Chronicles
by Lady with the lamp
Summary: A story about aerith and sephiroth, post ACC and DoC...which will turn out different as the chapters go on! please review! o
1. Chapter 1

**Chronicles**

**Note: **after reading alloria's "Afraid to sleep", I was inspired to make a story using her view of sephiroth's character. You may find some parts of the story related to her but as it goes on it will change.

I really love the pairing no matter what, im a certified aeriseph fan!^_^v

**Disclaimer: **All characters belongs to Square Enix, some events and part of the story is similar to Alloria's "Afraid to Sleep". (she's my idol so far when it comes to this pairing's fanfic…=D)

Enjoy reading!^o^

Chapter 1

She was selling flowers again, not on the same streets of Midgar, but on the new city built next to it, the peaceful city of Edge. Beside the city was the remains of the world renowned company that brought suffering to the planet Gaia, and brought forth tremendous fortune and power, as well as glory to the most influential man on the planet, the late president Shinra.

But now, what remains of the glorious city are just piles of rubble and trash. Although some we're still standing, like the church she used to cherish, and the home where she lives with her adoptive mother and where so many memories were created, both painful and joyful ones. She has no regrets on her previous life, except for the unrequited love she had for her friend, Cloud Strife, who was now engaged to her bestfriend Tifa Lockhart. Her world stopped for 5 years, she can remember it very clearly when she died on the hands of the once famous general of Shinra's SOLDIER, and the hero of the Wutain War, Sephiroth, the cold blooded monster who was liable for almost destroying the planet she protected with her life.

She also remembered how she helped Cloud fought the remnants of Sephiroth, Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz, 2 years ago. Even though she was not physically present, her prayers from the lifestream reached everyone on the planet and eradicated the epidemic, the Geostigma, caused by Sephiroth's anguish. Although Sephiroth was defeated thrice already, his will was so strong that she cannot guide his soul to be part of the lifestream. However on his third defeat, she can still remember how he looked so sorrowful but at the same time full of hate and anguish, that's why she insisted the planet on telling her of Sephiroth's past, thus taking pity on him afterwards.

But the curse cannot be changed, the planet brought them back, she, as good as new, but he, scarred in and out. But he accepted it all, just for a chance to meet his real mother, Lucrecia Crescent. The Planet took pity on him because fate was cruel, but to make sure he will be harmless, his powers that is akin to Jenova's cells were removed, he can only trust in his abilities that is the result of his SOLDIER training. He cannot use materia, nor materia will take effect on him, what's even worse is, he is immortal, no matter what kind of torture be given to him, he cannot die, thus, feeling only pain and the agony but cannot escape it through death.

He learned of his true origins as the soul of professor Gast Faremis, materializes In front of him in the lifestream,. Gast's soul cannot rest in peace because he's still guilty for starting that damn project on human evolution. He pleaded the planet to take him to Sephiroth, when the planet took him there, he told Sephiroth of the truth he so longed to hear. Since Sephiroth has a lot of respect to the professor, he listened and suddenly, he seemed to return to the way he was once before Jenova possessed his soul. Knowing that he is human in origin and was just tainted by hojo with an alien's cells, he seek to find his true mother and pleaded the planet to let him return to the planet whatever the sacrifice may be. He just wanted to meet her so badly and after that he can be one with the planet in peace. The planet accepted his offer and now brought him together with Aerith, a Half Cetra to guard him in case he plans to do something unusual.

"Sir, why don't you lighten the mood of your pretty girlfriend with a flower?" the flower girl stated with a smile to a man passing by.

"Sure, I'll buy one." He gave the amount and Aerith handed him the flower. She looked around and found just across the street, a man with long silver hair and wearing a black leather coat. Hands in his pocket and looking over the horizon in deep thought. Even though his face was slightly scarred because of what Cloud did to him, Aerith can still see his handsome features slightly covered by silver bangs. She felt guilty of what happened to him, but he once told her, _"You don't have to apologize, I brought it on myself"_, but still she cannot help but feel guilty. When she tilt her head to the direction where he was standing, he was already gone. _As always._ Aerith thought to herself. She decided to head home as the sun is already setting and the moon will come up soon enough and it will be dark in the alleys where she needs to pass to be able to get home.

7 days had passed already since their return, and the first thing she did was to go see her friends, but when she was at the bar's doorstep, she heard laughters and cheers for the engagement of her beloved to her bestfriend. Knowing that she cannot anymore interfere with their relationship, she run and cried her heart out. She was too late, her return was too late, there's nothing she could do, she doesn't want to mess up with her friend's lives and so decided to live in silence, disguise as a hooded flower girl on the streets. That same night she felt Sephiroth's sympathy, by being there for her, he hugged her offering comfort by just being there for her as she cried.

"_I'm sorry, It's my fault, I took your life away, and with it…your future."_ Sephiroth said in her ear as she was leaning on him.

"_No…don't blame yourself, it was both our destiny, it is also my duty as the remaining Cetra. The crisis in you, Jenova, and the blood of my ancestors in me, are once again destined to fight and it happened there at the Ancient Capital. I chose to die, to save many; I chose it so you don't have to apologize."_ She said in between sobs.

That is the night she swore she would move on with her life, and will help Sephiroth find clues about his mother, and after that they can go back to the lifestream.. She knew that Vincent knew everything, but in their current state, she could not just go and ask Vincent, it will complicate a lot of things, most especially with Sephiroth, as he will be the target of her friends knowing that he's alive and freely roaming around the planet.

She arrived at her home, fondling the keys in her pocket and then after finding it she unlocked the door, she entered, closed the door behind her and locked it. The house has only one room functional, Elmyra's room was destroyed during the event of meteor but someone fixed it, putting an X-mark wooden plank on it, which means it is not available to use. After taking a shower, she combed her hair, thinking what will become of her tomorrow and then settled herself on the bed and tuck herself up for the night as she drifted off to sleep.

Phew! Chapter 1 finished! I apologize for some wrong grammars, im not fluent in English though…. anyway reviews are nice! I'll see to it that I will be able to make updates as long as im no that busy…^o^

Thank you!^^v


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: **I'm back! I'm really sorry for the grammar, im not that good… anyway here's another update. Have fun!^^

**Disclaimer:** Characters and names of the places are property of Square Enix. Also some scenes I injected were the same with Aloria's idea of her work "Afraid to Sleep". (As I said in the first chapter, she is my favorite author, coz I liked what she did with Sephiroth's personality. Also mihoyanagi is one of my favorite authors too.^^)

Chapter 2

Aerith woke up, yawned and free herself from the blanket. She walks towards her window, sighed and smiled. "It's going to be a great day today!", she exclaimed as she wore her bathrobe. She cooked some pancakes for breakfast, after eating she went to take a bath. She got dressed afterwards and set her flower basket on her left hand as she locked the door and head outside.

Aerith's life was like this everyday, but for some reason, something seems to bother her. For the past 5 days she hasn't seen Sephiroth around. She got worried and so decided to ask the people around about a man with a scar on his face, since that's how people remembered him aside from his pale skin like ivory, and his long silky silver hair.

"Excuse me, have you seen a guy with long silver hair and with a scar on his left cheek?", Aerith asked an old man who seems to be always there near the bus stop every morning to read a newspaper from a nearby newspaper stand.

"No, I'm sorry…", the old man stated calmly.

"Oh thank you sir! Sorry for bothering you"

"No problem my dear, I hope you find him." The old man smiled. And Aerith smiled in return.

"Excuse me, have you seen a man with long silver hair and with a scar on his left cheek?", she asked a nearby flower girl like herself.

"Oh! That handsome guy who seems to be in deep thoughts always? No, I haven't seen him lately. Why are you asking, are you his girlfriend? Did you two have a fight or something?", the girl answered with a hint of teasing her.

"Oh, n-no… I-It's not like that." Aerith honestly replied.

"Then maybe you're one of his fans out here no?"

"No I'm not… I'm his friend, and I'm just concern that's all."

"I see, well I'm really sorry I don't have any clues on his whereabouts. Try asking those group of women over there, those 3 ladies there seems to have an eye on him, you know, some sort of uh… stalker? Yeah! Stalker that is! Maybe they know something.", the girl replied with a smile.

"Thank you! See ya!", Aerith answered as she turned her back and was going to start walking towards the 3 women the flower girl told her.

"Wait!" the girl called back.

"what is it?"

"well… if you happen to find him…" the girl paused and then a blush crept up her cheeks, "Don't forget to tell me okay!" with that she turned away and hurriedly went back to her flower shop.

"O-okay…" Aerith replied in a tone that only she could hear since the girl went off already. _Wow, I didn't know Sephiroth attracted a lot of girls lately._ She thought as her lips curled up into a smile. Then she headed to the 3 women near the coffee shop.

"hello good morning, may I ask you a question?", she said as she approached the red haired woman with big curls.

"Sure, what is it?", she replied with a smile.

"Well uh… have you seen a man with long silver hair and a scar on his-", Aerith was then interrupted, "Left cheek!", the woman with a long blonde hair tied in a neat ponytail, one of the red haired woman's companion exclaimed in delight.

"yes, that's him.", Aerith stated.

"well, we haven't seen him for 4 days already, the last we saw of him is last Friday, around 10pm. He was looking at the sky from here in the town's square. After that he left. And went to some dark alley, the next morning, he was not on his usual spot, the one just across the street.", the bob haired woman stated, one of the red haired woman's companion.

_These women must really have a knack for Sephiroth, to think they even saw him last Friday, while I saw him last Thursday morning. These women must be really stalkers as what the girl said a while ago. _Aerith thought to herself.

"Well why are you asking? Are you his significant other?", the red haired asked curiously.

"N-no! It's not like that, I'm just a friend, I was just concern, I got really busy these days that I forgot to check up on him every day.", Aerith replied honestly. _ well I really don't even know where he stays though._

"Oh that's good news! That means he's still single!" the blonde exclaimed. "Well alright, it seems like you we're telling the truth, you sure you're no fan girl like us?" , the Red haired asked.

"No I am not.", Aerith replied without a hint of hesitation.

"Well, we haven't got any info on him though. You better ask other people, some might have seen him around. Good luck!", the bob replied with a smile.

"Yes, I will do that, thank you very much.", Aerith replied also with a smile.

Aerith kept asking everyone around, bystanders, passers-by, fruit vendor, meat vendor, a waiter in a nearby diner and others.

"You might ask people inside that bar. Many people stopped by that bar, especially if you have a very sexy bartender to assist you.", the young man said to Aerith.

"I see, thank you.", Aerith answered. _Is he kidding? Of course I'll not go there; it is Tifa's new bar! I'll ruin their normal lives once I entered there. But Sephiroth…Where is he?_

While Aerith was in her deep thoughts, an old woman approached her.

"Excuse me, I heard that you were looking for a man with long silver hair and with a scar on his face?", the old woman asked.

"Well, yes I am.", Aerith replied politely.

"I know him! He's staying with me, in my home downtown."

"Really? Could you please take me to him?", Aerith pleaded to the old woman.

"Oh yes I will, I heard that you are his friend, you must be really concern to go looking for him. Come, follow me."

Aerith followed the old woman, even offering to carry her paper bag for her. It seems that the old woman was buying some ingredients in town, she must have heard her.

"I saw you this morning, you keep asking a lot of people, he must be someone important to you, is he not?", the old woman asked her.

"Well, of course he is, he's my…", Aerith paused at her own statement remembering the moment he impaled his sword on her. "Friend after all.", Aerith finished her sentence with a slight smile.

"ohohoho, I see, that young man, when I found him sleeping on one corner near my settlement, he looks so pale. And when you look into his eyes, you can see great sorrow in it. I took pity on him, as my son was the same age as him, but he died. When meteor struck some parts of Midgar 4 years ago, he was one of those who got buried under half of the plate that fell down. He was only 20, if he didn't die, he would be the same age as Sephiroth.", the old woman stated calmly.

"I see… My sympathies for you madam.", Aerith said sincerely. _Sephiroth was just 24? But im sure he was 6 years older than I am. Maybe he was stating his age when his world stopped revolving around him just like me, still 22.___Aerith sighed.

"Here we are."

In front of them was a makeshift house made of different materials, Wood and some old metals were used as the walls of the house. The roof was made of plywood covered in big sheets which uses old tires as a weight so that the roof will not get blown by the wind. The floor was made of spread out sheets. Aerith almost cried when she saw what kind of place Sephiroth was staying, from the high walls of the Shinra building, airconditioned rooms and soft beds maybe, Sephiroth was now just living in this kind of place.

The old woman left her shoes outside and opens the light on the lamp near the entrance. "I'm home my boy, you turned off the lights again. You always like living in darkness don't you? Anyway my dear, I brought someone with me today, she said she wanted to talk to you, she seems very worried about you so I let her come with me. Talk to her will you? I'll go prepare some food for us." The woman then went outside.

Aerith approached the inner part of the shelter, fighting back the tears that she's still suppressing since she saw the place.

Sephiroth then sat up, back facing Aerith.

"Hey, good thing you let the old woman take care of you. I'm glad knowing someone was there to look after you.", she said calmly.

"…yeah. She insisted, so I let her, said that she just misses her son a lot, who died because of me… she just didn't know. I-I tried to tell her, but she won't listen…saying we're all victims of meteor. If only she knows who I am. What a monster I am…", Sephiroth stated with a hint of sadness and guilt in his voice.

"No Sephiroth, you're not a monster! Jenova controlled you! Please… stop blaming yourself."

"At first, Jenova controlled me, because my mind was unstable, due to the truth I have learned, about my origins, which turned out just to be another lie. But then…my hatred…got the better off me. I wanted Revenge so badly that I…I overpowered Jenova's possession on me. I used her powers instead of her using me. My will was so great that my hatred shrouded my mind in total darkness, destruction is what I wanted, using Jenova's wishes as a front act as to what I'm doing on this planet. I wanted everyone to feel what it was like to be me, what it was to live in pain. What it was like when you lose those people who were important to you one by one. When you finally knew that what you were fighting for, what you were living for, was just a dream, and that your reality was indeed a nightmare you can never escape. Thinking you could always forget about the things that once haunted you but no… they will vanish for a moment then, re-appear again just when you thought you can start anew. Those feelings, I wanted everyone to suffer just like me. That's why I did those horrible things, yet in the end, fate was still cruel to me."

"Sephiroth…"

"Now, that the truth I have sought all my life was a total lie again, knowing now that what I did was something really unforgivable, I can't help but reflect on it. I killed so many people, I even tried to destroy this planet just for my own…selfish…smbitions of vengeance. The planet just did what is right. You did what is right, to punish me accordingly, because I'm just a monster created to please Shinra, to be an asset to his company, I'm just a puppet with so many strings attached and was played by so many people."

Sephiroth then looked at Aerith. "Do you understand now Cetra? The life I led was not mine, the decision in my life was not mine to make. Even before I was born, my life was planned by Hojo, he planned what kind of person I MUST be… I don't have a heart and mind of my own. Now that's everything's gone, Jenova, Hojo and Shinra, I don't really know what I'm going to do now. I-I am lost…Aerith. I know that you're trying to make things right, you're trying to help me, but honestly, I couldn't help myself. It's hopeless, I'll find my mother alone, you don't have to come with me, that is my only purpose right now. Thank you…for showing your concern, I appreciate it. You may leave now and you should never come back here, nor talk to me." With that Sephiroth set himself down to sleep.

Aerith ignored what he told her and instead, got closer to him, she then hugged him from his back.

"I can't just leave someone like you who's very much broken. Please let me fix your wounds, I-I'm sorry for being so insensitive, It's true that a lot of people saw a murderer in you after what you've done for them when you we're still a hero. Everyone was like that, they forget the good things but remembered the bad things even more even if it's just one single mistake. I don't care if you shove me away Sephiroth, but what I want to tell you is that…When you thought you lost everything, don't forget about me, I'll not stay away, I'll keep coming back because I want you to realize, that I have no plans to let you go on alone to find your mother. I'm coming with you."

Sephiroth turned to look at her, their eyes met and for the second time in his life, he believed the Cetra's words, just like how he believed in her when they first met in the Shinra Labs 20 years ago during her escape with her mother as he led them outside the prison he grew up in.

Whew! It was pretty long! Please R&R! till next update!^^


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **Characters are from Square Enix, no scenes similar to Afraid to sleep.

**Acknowledgement:** I wish to thank **Aerithgoddess **for my story's first review. Thank you also for the tip!^_^

Enjoy reading!

* * *

Chapter 3

"_I NEED MY SUBJECTS!!!", Hojo screamed in his laboratory as he throw papers and books atop his table. "Listen Sephiroth, I want you to find that woman and her child, if you find them, bring them to me. Do you understand?"_

_He was not speaking nor showing any sign of agreement._

"_DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!!", Hojo said again, this time a his voice was high._

"_Yes professor, as you wish.", Sephiroth replied half heartedly._

"_Good boy! Mmm…hahahahaHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Just a little more, I'll be famous! I'll become the number one scientist in this planet! I'll be much greater than professor Gast himself! HAHAHA!!! If he didn't resigned and refused to further his research, he would be in my place. Both he and Hollander are no match for my intelligence!"_

"_My research will be almost complete and I need you to bring back my precious experiment subjects. Now…GO! HURRY UP BOY! I don't want to see my subjects running away from me,when you find them, don't harm them, I want them be taken as they are.",Hojo said and then went on to read some of his files._

_Sephiroth stood for a moment then set off to accomplish his mission._

* * *

"_have you seen them?"_

"_No. Let's try the other direction! Quick! The professor will get mad at us!"_

_The woman who was escaping together with her 6 year old daughter stood upfrom where she was hiding and went to run off again, but stopped when she saw a young boy, not more than 12 years-old, with slightly long silver hair, clad in black leather with a huge sword clutched on his left hand._

"_Are you one of the infantry men? Or are you a member of SOLDIER? Please I'm begging you, let us go… We have gone this far, I can't afford to go back to that prison.", she plead as she hugged her daughter tighter._

"_Are you Hojo's new subjects?", Sephiroth asked the woman._

"_Yes…"_

_They heard a voice from a distance, "They're not here! Dammit they escaped us! Keep looking!"_

"_Hurry, this way.", Sephiroth hold the woman's hand and drag her to the elevator. He inserted a keycard and a secret number pad appears just below the elevator's floors button selection. He punched some numbers and the elevator moved._

"_Where are you taking us?", the woman asked in fear._

"_Don't worry, I'll let you escape."_

"_W-what? Are you serious?"_

"_Yes"_

"_But…why?"_

"_Because I know what it feels like to grow up in this laboratory, and… Hojo's a walking mass of complexes, you don't really know how he would act after a minute or two. He's a total weirdo, crazy nutcracker.", Sephiroth stated coldly._

"_I see… He…killed my husband, and now he got both me and my daughter, I don't want my daughter be touched by that man."_

"_Why is he after you? What are you?"_

"_My name is Ifalna, I'm the last remaining pure blooded Cetra, Hojo wanted to create humans with Cetra abilities, I believe that's why he created SOLDIER, humans who are genetically modified. But what he uses on this SOLDIERS are not Cetra cells but of the crisis, that's why he needs me and my daughter to accomplish his most desired results.", Ifalna explained._

_The elevator opened and they stepped out._

"_Well, here we are, this is the company basement, only important personnels of Shinra Corporation are permitted access here. Take that stairs and you'll end up at the building's exit at the back. This is only used as an important escape route."_

"_Thank you very much, we'll never forget this."_

"_Come with us…", the little girl with green eyes and chestnut curls said to Sephiroth._

_He was surprised._

"_I-I can't, I'm sorry…"_

"_Why not?", she asked._

"_Because…If I do… the bad guys will come after you and your mama.", Sephiroth kneeled in front of the little girl and continued, "…so now that you're free, you can do whatever you want." Sephiroth smiled._

"_But the bad guys will come after you won't they? They will hurt you.", Aerith said as she burst into tears._

"_Hush my baby", Ifalna said to Aerith then turned to Sephiroth, "are you sure you don't want to come with us?"_

"_Yes…", Sephiroth then spoke to Aerith, "It's okay, they will not do that… I'm going to be fine. Thank you for worrying about me. Just go and take care of yourself and your mom okay?"_

"_okay…", Aerith said as her cry became a sob._

"_Please take care…May the planet be with you.", Ifalna said, Aerith gave him one last glance and then Ifalna took her hand and they fled._

_-------------------_

"My dear Lunch's ready!", Josie, the old woman who was caring for him said.

"Oh! We're coming!", Aerith then tilted her head to sephiroth's direction."Did you have a nice nap? I was worried, I thought that when you collapse half an hour ago something happened, but then it turned out that you were just sleeping.", Aerith said with a giggle.

"Oh…I-I'm sorry…"

"You don't have to apologize, you must be really tired, are you?", Aerith asked.

"Yes…sort of.", Sephiroth replied.

"Well then, let's go, she's calling us. What's her name?"

"Josie…"

"Alright then, let's go she might get impatient.", Aerith hold Sephiroth's hand as she lead him out of the shelter.

------------------

Aerith was looking at both Sephiroth and Josie as they eat.

"If you think it's too bland for your taste, you could add salt.", Sephiroth told her.

"N-no…it's just that… well nothing. Let's Eat!", Aerith then took her spoon and begun to take a spoonful of the rice porridge Josie has prepared for lunch. _I never imagined Sephiroth can eat commoner's food like it was his everyday meal in his past life. He was pampered by Shinra, I bet he eats luxurious foods everyday._ Aerith thought to herself as she looked at Sephiroth.

"what?", Sephiroth spat.

"huh? O-oh! Nothing… I thought there was something on your face. Hahaha!", Aerith answered immediately. _Oh my goodness I looked stupid! He caught me staring!_

They talked as they ate, Aerith and Josie get to know each other better, while Sephiroth just listens to the two of them. After they ate, Aerith helped Josie washed the dishes and prepared to go home.

"well, thank you for a warm welcome and a nice meal. I better get going now.", Aerith said with a smile.

"It's nothing my dear, come back anytime! I'll cook up some nice porridge for you again."

"Thank you. Well, Sephiroth… see you and uhmm… take care."

"Thank you too, take care.", Sephiroth told her flatly.

"Oh deary, why don't you take her home? It's getting darker, and it's pretty dangerous around here, come with her on her way home and then just go back.", Josie told Sephiroth.

"Oh no need, I can do it on my own."

"I'll come with you. I'll take you home.", Sephiroth told her.

"You don't really have to Sephiroth…"

"It's alright, at least this is what I can do after all that I've done to you."

"Alright then, thank you…Seph…", aerith replied her cheeks slightly blushing.

"You're welcome Aerith…", Sephiroth answered with a slight smile.

"Take care then both of you.", Josie told them as she wave her hand to them.

* * *

It was already nighttime, around 6:30pm, they've been walking for 15 mins. Now since the place where Sephiroth is and her house in sector 5 were a pretty long distance.

They were walking quietly side by side, no one dared to speak, Aerith would sometimes try to open her mouth to speak but closed it since she doesn't know how to speak to him at a time like this.

What does she feel a while ago, her heart was pounding and heat burned on her cheeks as Sephiroth offered to take her home. She was surprised at his behavior and she keeps on pondering what those sensations mean.

As they were walking, a whistle was heard.

"Yo! Nice gurly you got there man!", a voice came from a raggedly looking man who looked like a common thief around the area.

Sephiroth stopped as well as Aerith.

"Will ya have fun with her tonight huh? Why don't ya share us some of yer girlfriend's nice booty. Hehehe…", the man said as he let out a creepy laugh.

Aerith clasped her hand on her chest, Sephiroth put his hand on her shoulder and urged her to keep walking. Aerith obeyed and so, they started walking and ignored the thief.

"Hey where ya goin'? I'm not yet finished talkin'! Get 'em boys!", he said in a loud voice and 3 more men appear, 2 in front of Aerith and Sephiroth and 1 from the side.

"We got ya all surrounded now!", one of the thief said to them.

"yeah and no need to hide your little pretty girl." Said the other.

"You know it won't hurt to share…hehehe…"the other one told them.

Aerith took a step backward, while Sephiroth stood in front of her in a protective manner.

"We got you! Don't ya go ignoring me will ya?" the leader of the thief, the one who called his comrades told Sephiroth.

"What do you want?", Sephiroth asked them in a cold manner.

"We just want to taste that beautiful girl with ya, then after that ya can buzz off!"

"yeah, it's a good thing that ya share wut ya 'ave!"

The four of them laughed hard.

Sephiroth then smirk, "Sorry, but I'm not planning to share, If you think you can get your filthy hands on her, then come and try.", Sephiroth told them with a sly smile on his face.

"You-!"

"You'll regret it!"

"Stay back Aerith, I'll deal with them."

Aerith obeyed and step aside.

The fight began, Sephiroth took them down one by one with just his fists. The four thugs were left out sprawled on the floor, defeated and he, unharmed.

"Let's go Aerith."

Aerith nodded her head and they left.

"I…won't let…ya…get away with this!!!" one of the thugs roared and sprung himself to Sephiroth, the others followed. But Sephiroth defeated them again, but this time he got hit on the side of his lips and it began to bleed.

"Sephiroth! Are you alright?", Aerith asked worried spread across her face.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Let's go."

"Wait! You're bleeding! Your lips, it's bleeding!"

"It's nothing…"

"No! We need to treat it, let's go, we're almost there.", Aerith told Sephiroth as she hold his hand on hers and led the way.

It didn't took them long to reach Aerith's house, she unlocked the door and drag Sephiroth inside, but Sephiroth wouldn't move from where he was standing.

"What are you doing? Come inside, I'll treat your wound."

"No…I…I am not worthy enough to go inside."

"What are you saying! Come inside!"

"…"

"Listen, I'm the owner of this house, and if I told you to come inside, that means you are permitted to step in here! Come! Don't make me repeat myself Sephiroth or I'll get mad!", Aerith thundered.

With that Sephiroth stepped inside. Aerith closed the door.

"Please take a sit, I'll go get my first aid kit.", she said and then went upstairs.

Sephiroth sat down on the dining chair. After a little while, Aerith was going down. She placed the medical kit on top of the dining table and sat in front of Sephiroth. She put out the things she needed from the bag. Alcohol, Cotton balls, forceps and a Povidone Iodine. She put alcohol in her hands first and then open the cotton ball receptacle, using the forceps she picked up a cotton ball and applied the medicine on it. She then hold Sephiroth's chin on her left hand as she held the forceps on her right hand. She dip it on Sephiroth's wound lightly. Sephiroth winced a little.

"Oh, does it hurt? I'm sorry…I brought you trouble.". Aerith said sadly.

"N-no…You don't have to apologize… I…I'm just glad you're not hurt.", he replied shyly. His heart was beating too fast, the presence of her light touch send shivers down his spine. He doesn't know what kind of feeling this is, he has not felt such a strong emotion before.

"Sephiroth…Thank you."Aerith replied with a smile. She then continued her work.

Sephiroth was not looking at her as she treat his wound, but then when his eyes met hers, he can't help but notice how beautiful she was. He never had a close encounter with other women, just her. Her face, her hair and even her scent made his thoughts cloudy. Absentmindedly, he raised his right hand to touch her cheek. His heart pounding hard as if It's going to pump out of his chest.

Aerith was surprised with his action and stopped what she was doing, her right hand still holding the forceps and was held just an inch away from his face. Her eyes met his gaze and then her left hand held his hand, the one on her cheek, then slowly, Sephiroth began to lower his face as he gets closer and closer, Aerith seeing that he doesn't have any plan to stop, closed her eyes, but then Sephiroth suddenly stopped, his mouth an inch away from hers, then turning his head on the side to whisper in her ear.

"You should get some sleep…", Sephiroth said to her smiling.

Aerith was startled and opened her eyes. She was blushing hard!

"I-I s-suppose s-so…", Aerith replied stammering. _Oh planet what am I doing! _She thought to herself. But as she saw Sephiroth's smiling face, she can't help but notice his handsome features. His skin so pale like an ivory, his eyes feline and was the same color as the lifestream, his lips, thin and curled upward into a beautiful smile, the one without malice. A smile that melted her on the spot, despite the scar on his left cheek, his face was still illuminated by handsome features; it's as if the scar was lifted from his face.

_Did somebody say he looks so beautiful? He's like a marble statue carved in perfection, a living Adonis, even the goddess would fall for him. Now I know why a lot of girls were so into him_.

"Well…? I better get going now… Thank you.", Sephiroth said interrupting her thoughts of him.

"Oh…y-yeah… sorry… uhmm… Thank you too, from earlier.", Aerith replied shyly.

"It's nothing…"

Then they both stand up, Aerith led Sephiroth outside into her doorstep.

"Well then… take care… and… goodnight Aerith, sweet dreams.", Sephiroth told her in a low voice.

"Take care too, and thank you again. Goodnight Sephiroth, sweetdreams.",Aerith replied kindly. Then she watched as Sephiroth started walking and closed the door and locked it.

It' has been a very long day… a very long day indeed.

* * *

NOTE: There you go! Chapter 3 for you guys! From this point onwards, my story will stray from afraid to sleep, no more scenes similar to Aloria's story. I wish to thank **Aerithgoddess **for giving my story the very 1st review! Hope you like it! I need to sleep! Till next update!^_^


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **All final fantasy characters are property of Square Enix. The story is done mainly for entertainment and not for fortune.

I'm back for another Chapter! Thanks **GoddessAerith** for your another review! I apologized for having wrintten your username wrong during the last chapter. (gomenasai….)

Anyway another chapter released! Enjoy reading!^_^

* * *

Aerith woke up from her slumber with Sephiroth still in her mind. _How would it feel, if that night, he continued what he was about to do? How his lips would feel when it touched mine? How was it like to…kiss him?_ Aerith blushed at the thought of her kissing Sephiroth, "Oh! Stupid stupid stupid! What the hell am I thinking? I better go and prepare, I still have loads of work to do and daydreaming should be done during my free time.", Aerith then stood up and went downstairs to prepare breakfast.

* * *

Sephiroth was still on his makeshift bed of spread out sheets, thinking about Aerith and what should have happened last night if he didn't stop.

_How could I be so blind? Why didn't I notice how beautiful she is? I made myself look stupid last night, but… even If I saw her willingness, I still have to respect her. We barely know each other that, we've only been here for not more than a month, if I did that, she would have thought that I'm taking advantage of the situation. I don't want her to get mad at me, no, not now, now that I… I what? Is this what humans called love? Is this the feeling Zack was telling me the time we we're still in SOLDIER?_

_-----------------_

_Zack was hopping and leaping as they walked together in the corridors of the Shinra building as he and Sephiroth were walking towards Sephiroth's office. Sephiroth opened the door and Zack came in after him. Sephiroth took a seat on the chair in front of his desk near the huge glass window, over looking the city of Midgar._

"_SEPHIROTH!!! YO BUDDY! I have something really, really important to tell you! Will you listen?", Zack asked him happily._

_Sephiroth smirked, "And what is it Zack…the puppy?", Sephiroth gave a laugh at his own statement._

"_Oh come on! Not you! Will you just stop calling me that? Why do I get that nickname huh? Anyways enough with that, I want you to listen ok? Please…?", Zack begged._

"_Aright, does it got something to do with your hopping a while ago?", Sephiroth asked suppressing another laugh._

"_Uh…y-yeah! Hahaha! Well listen buddy… I met a very beautiful woman down at the slums! She's an angel! And we went on a date! I swear Sephiroth, if you'd see her, you'll definitely know what I'm talking about!", Zack stated enthusiastically._

"_Okay…", Sephiroth stood up then walked towards the window to get a better view of the city, then sighed and turned to Zack, "are you not scared that I might get the attention of this girl you're talking about?", Sephiroth teased._

"_W-what? Since when did you have an interest on women huh? I thought you were some kind of a misogyny?", Zack replied._

"_Do I get that kind of impression from you?", Sephiroth laughed again then continued, "well I'm not like that, I basically don't like women who are aggressive."_

"_aggressive huh?"_

"_Yeah, those kinds of women who would readily drop their laps onto you and lets you do what you want with them. Not that I care, but my view of a woman is someone… Who's more ladylike and…"_

"_And what?", Zack asked curiously._

"_And… someone different.", Sephiroth finished._

_Zack laughed hard upon hearing Sephiroth's statement. "Different? Hahaha! In what way different? Could you please make it more specific buddy? Every woman is different… hahaha!",Zack said as he wipes the tears that keeps on coming from his eyes due to so much laughing._

"_Well, I'll know what I mean by different when I get to see one, someone that would make a difference in my life.", Sephiroth replied honestly._

"_Geez, Sephy, I didn't know that you're such a romantic person! Almost every woman in this company likes you! I thought you just basically hate women, that is why you never had an eye for anyone. Oh well… I hope you find that kind of girl you're looking for. Someone that is one of a kind thanks for listening! Hope you can meet the girl I'm talking about."_

"_Sure, if I'm not that busy."_

"_since when are you not busy? Hahaha… anyway later!"_

"_yeah, later…take care.", Sephiroth said as he waved at zack._

* * *

_I wonder if Zack felt the same way back then._

"Deary! Wake up now, I've prepared up some breakfast. Are you still sleeping?", Josie asked from outside.

"No! I'm already awake, I'm coming.", Sephiroth answered then he stood up and fix his bed.

* * *

"How was your day at the pier last night? Did those sailors beat you up again?", Josie asked while eating.

"N-no… they did nothing… everything's fine at the pier yesterday.", Sephiroth replied.

"Then where did you get that bruise on your face?", Josie asked curiously, concerned.

"Well, I had a fight, with thugs trying to hurt Aerith. We were on our way to her home when they bothered us, so I just have to stop them.", Sephiroth answered truthfully.

"Oh… you protected Aerith? That's good…", Josie answered smiling. "Are you sure you'll be leaving as soon as you saved enough money?", Josie asked.

"…yes. I'm sorry… but I have to, this is my only purpose in life, I must find my mother, I didn't even get to meet her once. Honestly, I don't know anything about her, except that her name is Lucrecia Crescent.", Sephiroth answered sadly.

"Oh… you don't even know what she looked like?"

Sephiroth shook his head, "No…"

"I bet she's beautiful my dear."

Sephiroth gave Josie a questioned look.

Josie smiled and said, "Because you are good looking!"

Sephiroth smirked, "I see…", then he laughed.

"Yes! Ohohoho… come on, don't be so humble. You are handsome! Anyway… I would be really sad if you would leave.", Josie said sadly.

"Don't worry, I'll write. Every now and then I'll try to write you letters.", sephiroth said with a smile.

"that would be good, my son."

* * *

Meanwhile… Aerith was selling flowers on the street again. A young girl with light brown hair approached her.

"Excuse me, can I buy some flowers?", the girl asked timidly.

"sure here you go.", Aerith handed her the flowers and took the amount.

"Thank you.", the girl said to Aerith.

"No problem, what's your name? you're such a beautiful girl.", Aerith Exclaimed.

"I…My name's-", the girl was interrupted by a woman's scream.

"HELP!!! Somebody help me! That man took my bag!"

"wait here, I'll be back to tell you my name.", the girl run so fast that she almost became a blur.

"Whoa…she's so fast, more like she's not human at all…",Aerith told herself.

------------------

"Hold it right there, return that woman's bag.", the girl called to the robber.

"And why should I? as if I'm going to listen to a brat like you!", the man spat and revealed a knife on his right hand. "try to mess with me and you'll get what you're looking for. Hehehe…"

The girl was poised to a fighting stance when suddenly they heard a deep voice. "Is that all you can do? Mess up with some kid? What a shame."

Both the girl and the thief looked to where the voice came from and found on top of a pile of crates, a man with long silver hair with a scar on his cheek, and was sitting on top of the crates. He then jumped off and went to kick the knife out of the thief's hand and then grab the thief's hand and twisted it on his back.

"ow!"

"That's what you get for stealing and trying to harm a little girl. Now return what you stole and come quietly with the police.", Sephiroth stated coldly.

"O-okay!!! I-I will! Please just don't kill me, I'm begging you!"

Aerith arrived at the scene, together with some cops. "Sephiroth!", she then turned to look at the thief and to the little girl.

"are you hurt?", Aerith asked the girl worriedly.

"No I'm not."

"Good, Sephiroth… Good thing you're here.", Aerith said with a smile.

Sephiroth just nodded and took the bag away from the man and throw the bag to aerith.

"Return the bag to its owner I'll handle this."

"Okay, hey.", Aerith called out to the girl, "Come let's get this bag to the woman.", she then turned to look at Sephiroth, "Let the police handle him, I'll see you ok?"

"Okay.", Sephiroth released the thief's hand as the cops put handcuffs on the thief's hands.

"Good work chump!", the police said to Sephiroth.

Sephiroth then went to follow Aerith.

* * *

"Oh thank you very much! Let me give you this as a reward.", she handed 500 gil to Aerith.

"Oh, I'm not the one who returned the bag, It's this girl.", aerith said.

"Oh then here you go" the woman handed the girl the amount.

"It's not me.", the girl refused, she saw Sephiroth approaching, "It's him.", she finished.

The woman then approached Sephiroth and handed him the 500 gil.

"Thank you for getting my bag, take it as a token of my gratitude.", the woman smiled.

"N-no…I just did what needs to be done. I can't accept this."

"It's alright! Take it or I'll get mad… at least let me show my gratitude.", the woman said. Sephiroth then accepted the money. "thank you."

"It's nothing, Thank you again.", the woman left.

"Well it's over.", Aerith said as she smiled at Sephiroth.

"yeah…", He looked at Aerith and returned a smile. _She really is so beautiful._ Sephiroth thought to himself.

The girl tugged Aerith's dress.

"Oh, what is it?", Aerith asked kindly.

"I promised that I'd tell you my name.", the girl said.

"Oh I almost forgot! Alright then, I'm Aerith Gainsborough, this guy here is…", Aerith pointed at Sephiroth.

"Sephiroth…Crescent.", he said.

"Crescent?", the girl asked.

Aerith smiled and said to the little girl, "Yes, is it beautiful? That's his mother's family name."

"I see, Yes it's beautiful, it is just similar with professor Lucrecia Crescent, nice to meet both of you, my name is Shelke Rui."

* * *

Chapter 4 finished! Uh-oh! Aerith and Sephiroth are now getting closer to Cloud and the others, meeting Shelke Rui would mean meeting with Cloud's gang! Of course Aerith and Sephiroth has no idea, as to what mystery is enveloping the former teviet, Shelke! Watch out for the next chapter!

Till next update guys!^_^


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **All Final Fantasy Characters are property of Square Enix.

**Note: ** Thanks to **GoddessAerith **for another review and continued patronage! Sorry guys for a late update, the file has been corrupted so I typed it all over again, and I was kinda busy from school, got loads of things to do. Here's chapter 5 for you guys!

Enjoy reading!^_^

* * *

"You know my mother?", Sephiroth questioned Shelke.

"Who?", Shelke replied.

"My mother, Lucrecia Crescent, you know her?"

"Yes."

"Please tell me what you know about her. I'm begging you, tell me.", Sephiroth pleaded as he kneeled down and grab Shelke's shoulder's gently.

"So you are Sephiroth, the Sephiroth she kept on calling and asking for forgiveness."

"Can you tell me where she is?"

"Yes, the place where she dwells can be reached either by airship or by means of a submarine.", Shelke explained.

"Can we not travel by foot?", Aerith asked..

"You can, but you need to go through forests and climb mountains in order to reach the place. I suggest that you take an airship instead, It's difficult to acquire a submarine, and besides I can ask a friend of mine who's an airship pilot.", Shelke stated.

_I have a bad feeling about this. _Aerith thought to herself.

"Alright.", Sephiroth replied.

"Then come with me to that bar. I'll go ask Tifa to ask Cid so we can borrow an airship in order for you to reach Lucrecia.", shelke told them.

_Now that's why I think I'm feeling something bad about her offer. _Aerith thought to herself.

"That bar? I think It's not- nevermind. Let's go." Sephiroth told Shelke.

"W-what? Sephiroth are you serious about this? You know for a fact what they would do to you! They hated you, do you know that? They'll kill you, Cloud will kill you!", Aerith shouted.

"You're right about one thing Aerith, they hate me, but you're also wrong about the other thing. They can't kill me, I'm immortal remember?"Sephiroth replied with a smile.

"You're a masochist.", Aerith told him.

"Well, I guess I am then."

"Why what's the matter? They won't do that, they're nice people." Shelke said to them.

"Yes, they are really good people, except that I'm the one who's bad. I did something to them. didn't you know that I tried to destroy this planet? That's why they'll be mad at me, and I… I killed they're precious friend.", Sephiroth stated sadly.

"I see… But I don't understand what you're talking about. I don't sense some madness in you."

"I guess, people can change, if they find the effort and the purpose to do so.", Sephiroth told Shelke smiling.

"Sephiroth…Will you still be going?", Aerith asked him.

"Yeah… I don't have a choice."

"We can still travel by foot. We just have to ask Shelke about the details of the place. You don't have to get yourself beaten."

"I'm sorry Aerith, but even if they have to beat me everyday, I'll do so. I need an airship, I don't have much time, the planet will claim my soul 70 days from now. If I travel by foot, I might no able to meet my mother forever."

"B-but, if you reach and meet her, the planet will claim your soul earlier than the due time right?", Aerith told him.

"Yes, That's the deal. It's either I'll see her and die right after, or I'll be given 3 months in order to find her, then die with or without seeing her. Both we're my only choice."

Aerith just looked at him.

"Look, It's alright if you don't want to come with me Aerith. You are not really concern about me getting hurt by your friends, but It's about you getting hurt when you see Cloud with your bestfriend together, thinking what could have been if it's you in his arms and not anyone. You cannot still accept that, You haven't moved on yet, I know that. And… and I know… that when you get to see them occasionally, it hurts you so much and I'm sure, there's a part of you that blames me for what had happened. It's alright, blame me! Because I took that opportunity from you! I took your future away…", Sephiroth said as he walked near Aerith and looked at her eyes the same as she looked at him.

"N-no…"

"I do! I did! I'll understand if you hate me Aerith! Hate me! You don't have to hide your anger, I'll take it! It's…It's less painful that way, for both you and me! It kills me to see you acting so kind in front of me after all that I've done to you!", Sephiroth exclaimed.

"N-NO! I-I don't want to hate you…You've taken so much hate, you've suffered so much. I can't afford to see you hurt again! That's why…that's why… I don't want to see you, getting beaten by my friends, because I…I… consider you as my friend Sephiroth! And I don't want my friends hurting each other! Please… Don't… don't do it.", Aerith said and began to cry.

"Are you really sure that you still want to go?", Shelke asked him.

"…Yes. I'm sorry Aerith…Please forgive me." with that said, Sephiroth turned his back on Aerith and walked towards the bar with Shelke.

"Fine! If you want to get yourself beaten, I don't care! I don't care anymore!", With that Aerith hurriedly went towards her home crying.

Sephiroth took one last glance then continued walking towards the bar.

* * *

They arrived in front door of the bar, Shelke stopped and turned to look at Sephiroth.

"Are you sure about this? Now that I heard you two arguing, and what you just said a while ago that they're after you, I cannot guarantee you with anything."

"I know, You don't have to tell me that, I'm sure with what I'm doing. I am ready for anything. Let's give it a try, and even if they refuse, I don't plan on just giving up. I'll try and persuade them, even if it means getting beaten always.", Sephiroth answered smiling.

"Very well then, I'll go first.", Shelke opened the door.

"Wait!", Sephhiroth called back.

"What is it?"

"Please don't tell them anything about Aerith."

"Okay…"

Then, Shelke entered the bar and Sephiroth followed but hidden himself behind the divider located just after the door.

"Tifa…here I brought you the flowers. Sorry I'm late.", Shelke said to Tifa as she walked her way towards the counter.

"Oh Shelke! Thank goodness you're back! You got me worried. Hmm… theses flowers smell nice. Thank you!", Tifa replied with a smile.

"No worries, a robber on the streets complicated things, that's why I'm late. I met a nice person who helped me chase the robber and brought back the victim's bag."

"Really? He or she must be a really nice person."

"Can we have more tofu please?"

"Alright! One plate of Fried tofu coming up!", Tifa replied.

"Tifa…wait!", Shelke called to Tifa.

"You can tell me more about it later Shelke, I'll just have to prepare the customer's order. Wait a minute!", Tifa replied as she went inside the kitchen.

Shelke sighed and went to see Sephiroth.

"Do you want to take a seat?"

"No, I'm fine, she seems pretty busy. I guess I'll just have to some back, later."

"It's your choice though, but there's only a few customers so, you can at least take your seat in one of the chairs.", Shelke offered.

"No, I'll prefer staying here I guess, not unless you've given me proper introduction."

"Okay."

Tifa was now delivering the fried tofu to table number 7. She glanced and saw Shelke talking to someone who looks oddly familiar.

"Shelke?", Tifa called out.

Shelke glanced at Tifa's direction, as Sephiroth hid his face.

"Yes Tifa?"

"Who is he? Is he a customer?

"No Tifa… Well… He's the one I'm talking about earlier, the one who helped me, Tifa… This is… Sephiroth.", Shelke finished.

Then Sephiroth revealed his face, Tifa was astounded.

"We meet again…Ms. Lockhart.", Sephiroth stated timidly.

"W-What? It's impossible… you are…dead…This…", then Tifa suddenly turn to the customers.

"Alright Everyone! Up! I have encountered an emergency and so I must close this bar early. I'm so sorry, but can you all go? I really need to close the bar."

There were protests heard.

"Why didn't you even notify us Tifa?"

"I'm so sorry Ed, but it really is an emergency so I can't notify you. I just receive the call now. Don't worry, You can order again tomorrow what you haven't finished now, and It's free! Alright? So please out, now! Thank you!", Tifa told the customers.

"Alright then tomorrow free!!! Woohoo!.", said one of the customers who were always at Tifa's bar.

"Alright, bye Tifa! See you tomorrow! Mwah!", Alfred said, one of the regulars at Tifa's bar.

"Yes, tomorrow. See ya!", Tifa replied to them.

After all of the customers went out, Tifa replaced the Label hanging on the door from, "Come In We're open", to "Sorry, We're closed".

Tifa looked at Shelke, "What's the meaning of this? Do you know this guy Shelke? Do you know him?"

"Yes, He is Sephiroth, Lucrecia's son, he tried to destroy this planet and, all of you hates him.", Shelke answered.

"Yes, He even killed Aerith, our friend! Why are still alive? Cloud killed you thrice already, why… why do you keep coming back, when everything returns to normal again…", Tifa said as she burst out into tears.

"I know that I did a lot of things unforgivable. And I really don't know if you can even find it in your heart to forgive me. I have return to see my mother, Lucrecia. After that, I can return to the planet and never come back again."

"Then what are you doing here?", Tifa asked.

"I need you to persuade Cid to lend me his airship, Shelke told me that I can reach the place by air, I really don't have much time. That's why, I came here.", Sephiroth answered honestly.

Tifa then put out her PHS and dialed a number. "Hello Yuffie? Could you get to call Vincent and Nanaki and tell them to head to my bar asap? It's really important, please… come here also, thank you."

Tifa dialed another number. "Hello, Barret? Can you phone Cid and tell him to come here at my bar asap? And you too, come here, there's something you need to see, It's an emergency… just come here okay? Thanks."

Tifa dialed another, "Hello Cloud? Could you come back here at the bar? I really need you to see something, It's important, I called the others. Thank you. And… Please drop Denzel and Marlene to Elmyra for awhile. They really don't need to see this, ok, bye, I love you too."

Then Tifa turned to look at Sephiroth.

"They'll be coming here, and I can't guarantee you that you can't make it out alive.", Tifa said coldly.

"I'm prepared for that…", Sephiroth replied without a hint of malice in his eyes.

* * *

Aerith was on her bed, still crying and kept on pondering about what Sephiroth has said earlier.

"_It's not you being concern about me getting hurt, but It's about you getting hurt when you see Cloud and your bestfriend together. Thinking what could have been if it's you in his arms and not anyone"_

"_I'm sure there's a part of you that blames me for what happened"_

"Is it true? That I don't want to see them…happy? That I am jealous about Tifa? Me and Cloud should have celebrated our engagement , how would it feel to be engaged? And is it true that… that I blame Sephiroth for what had happened to me?", Aerith was asking herself.

"_Stop his endeavors dear planet. And let him feel the people's pain." Aerith told the planet as she was kneeling at the altar saying prayers to the planet to summon Holy._

_You wished for it my child. Now I have punished him accordingly, and he has yet to suffer more as payment for the innocent people's tears._

"N-no… I… I never blamed him for killing me… I didn't blame him! Or…did I? Somewhere in my heart, Did I really hated him? I-I guess…hating is really part of being human… Oh Sephiroth! Forgive me!", Aerith was sayng as she burst out into tears again.

* * *

Finished! Anyway please review thanks!

I'm thinking to have it a crossover with other final fantasy games and of course my other fave rpg games! But since I can only crossover it to one story only, I think I just have to mention it on my disclaimer and never enlist this story to the crossover section.^_^

Till net update!^_^


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **All Final Fantasy characters belongs to Square Enix. This fanfiction is purely for entertainment purposes only. Thank you.

**Note: **My updates will not be delayed, since my schedule for next week is pretty hectic. I wish to thank **GoddessAerith** for her continued patronage.

Here's chapter 6. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6

Someone knocked on the door. Tifa stood up from the chair she was seating on with Sephiroth and Shelke.

"Looks like they're here. Might as well be prepared.", Tifa told Sephiroth.

Sephiroth remained silent, Shelke turned to look at his form, sitting with his elbows on the table and his hands crossed in front of him, eyes closed, his silver bangs dangling from his forehead and slightly covering his expressionless face.

"Tifa!!! I missed you! Why'd you call? It was so sudden you know? Good thing, me and Vince were doing some errands for Nanaki in the canyons near cosmo. Anyway what is it that you want us to see?", an energetic voice of a girl was heard.

"Well…just go inside and see for yourself.", Tifa told them.

When they walked in a little closer to where Sephiroth and Shelke are, "OH MY GOODNESS! I-is this a joke? H-hey…Tifa It's not even funny you know…more like…It's SCARY!", Yuffie told her as she saw Sephiroth.

A low growl came from Nanaki as his tail straightened.

"That's why I can smell Jenova's stench when I came in, It came from him.", Nanaki said.

Vincent remained silent and walked a little closer.

_He looks somewhat strange._ Vincent thought to himself.

Sephiroth stood up and gave a slight bow as a sign of respect, "It's good to see you again…AVALANCHE." Sephiroth stated kindly.

"Whoa… did he just have an ethics class or something? Hey Tifa! Are you sure he's tamed?", Yuffie asked again.

"Well, as you can see, Shelke and I are in one piece.", Tifa said as she slightly shrugged her shoulder, returning to her seat. "Why don't you guys have a seat and let us wait for Cloud and the others."

They all took their seats.

"It just puzzles me… even though you have your familiar smell in you, I… I don't sense some madness in you. Why is that?", Nanaki asked Sephiroth.

"I hope I can give an answer to your query, but I'm not really sure.", Sephiroth answered truthfully.

"He's right, you seemed…change. Why are you here?", Vincent said finally.

Sephiroth remained silent. Shelke offered some drinks to her friend as she walked towards the counter to return the tray.

"ok let me answer you instead.", as Tifa turned to look at Vincent, then continued, "He was sent here by the planet because it has given him a chance to see his real mother, Lucrecia even just once, before becoming part of the lifestream."

"He knows about Lucrecia?", Vincent asked again, curiously.

"Yes…", Tifa replied.

Vincent looked at Sephiroth's direction then asked, "Could you possibly know who your parents are?"

"Yes… Lucrecia was my mother and Hojo…is my…father.", Sephiroth answered.

"How did you know about this? Where did you learn all about it? Lucrecia's files have been deleted in the Shinra database. Your birth was supposed to be buried in history, Shinra wouldn't want you to know because you are his SOLDIER trophy. He wanted to create a merciless fighting machine, and he believed that a mother's love has a lot of contribution for developing soft emotions that will make a person weak. That's the purpose they never let you know the truth behind your origins.", Vincent told him.

"Professor Gast told me, we met, in the lifestream. I don't care whatever my mother's reason was for submitting me to the experiment, all that matters to me is her. For me, who never experienced to feel what a mother's love is, I'm willing to take the risks just to know what it was like.", Sephiroth answered.

"Then what are you doing here at tifa's?", yuffie asked Sephiroth.

"I came here because when I met Shelke, I learned that she knew something about my mother, and she offered me an airship ride if your friend Cid will lend me one of his airships. According to Shelke, my mother's place is pretty difficult to reach, and air is the easiest option."

"Good luck on making Cid lends you his beloved Sierra. He only got that one, he do not have any spare.", Yuffie replied.

"You didn't even ponder on what kind of danger you are in? If Cloud arrives, you'll never get to see your mother.", Nanaki told him.

"I'll take his beating, I have the planet's mark of curse, and no matter what he does, even how brutal it is, the planet will not claim me in my due time, which is 3 months or after I see my mother.", Sephiroth told honestly.

"What do you mean?", Nanaki asked.

"I am immortal."

"Hey that's unfair! You can kill us and yet we can't kill you? Why is that?", Yuffie protested.

"It's a punishment Yuffie. The planet took away all his Jenova-like powers, he cannot use materia nor materia be used on him. That means, if he gets a lot of beatings, he'll feel the pain and it can't be healed by using a materia, which will cause him suffering.", Tifa told Yuffie.

"Oh, I don't want that to happen to me.", Yuffie said.

"Well, If you want to see Lucrecia, you don't have to borrow Cid's Sierra. I can take you there.", Vincent said.

"W-what? How…?", Sephiroth asked.

"By air of course, I'll use Chaos and I'll just carry you. You don't have to see Cloud and get yourself beaten. Don't try to be a masochist."

"But they're on their way here Vincent.", Tifa interrupted.

"That's why we must hurry. Let's go.", Vincent told them.

"Don't worry, Vincent and I will keep our mouths shut, I just don't know about the other one though.", Nanaki told them as he looked at Yuffie suppressing a smirk.

"W-what? Of course I won't spill anything!", Yuffie stated.

"Yes, you should, because after he see his mother he'll be going to the lifestream, so no need for Cloud and the others to know.", Vincent told them.

They went outside, but then a sound of a motorcycle coming to stop was heard followed by a small truck.

"Uh-oh…I guess we're too late.", Yuffie said in a low voice.

Cloud removed his eye protector and left his bike. He stopped and can't believe what he saw, Sephiroth in the flesh. That Long silver hair and green mako feline eyes, he'll never go wrong. Even though his face was scarred, which slightly altered his looks a little he is still recognizable. Barret and Cid went out from Barret's truck, like Cloud, they we're astounded. Cid dropped his cigar.

"HOLY ***T", Cid exclaimed.

"goddammit! W-what is the meaning of this?", Barret stated, surprised.

"Tifa…? Is this why you called me and asked me to drop Denzel and Marlene at Elmyra's house?", Cloud asked, still collected.

"…yes…"

Then Cloud walked towards Sephiroth quickly and punched him hitting him on his face. Sephiroth fell with his back flat on the ground. Good thing it was almost midnight and there's no more people hanging around to see the scenario. Sephiroth stood up and wipe the blood that trickle from his mouth with the back of his left hand. Cloud rushed towards him again and grabs the collar of his coat.

"WHY ARE YOU STILL ALIVE? I sent you to hell three times already!", Cloud told him angrily.

"Cloud! Oh my god stop it!", Tifa shouted.

Vincent rushed in between them and pulled Cloud's hands away from Sephiroth.

"Cloud stop it, he didn't come here to fight or to destroy. He just come here to see Lucrecia.", Vincent told Cloud.

"Stay away Vincent, I don't care what his purpose is, get out or I'll take you down first.", Cloud stated Icily.

"Try then… but I won't back away.", Vincent replied with an equal coldness in his tone.

"Hey stop it you guys! Cloud it's true, Sephiroth doesn't mean no harm! Just let him go!", Yuffie told him.

"Cloud, Vincent, stop it! Barret, Cid, helped them, stop Cloud please?", Tifa begged.

"I ain't gonna stop Cloud Tifa, and Vincent, I dun no why he's protecting that son of a ***ch, but I ain't just gonna let the b***h, get away without being hurt.", Barret told Tifa.

"More like son of an abominable alien if you ask me. Listen Tifa, I agree with Barret, I don't want that fuckin' maniac just get away without a scratch, I'll be cheering on Cloud.", Cid said as he lighted a cigar in his mouth.

"Ugh! You guys were the worst!", Tifa exclaimed. _Guess I'll have no choice but to try and convince Cloud. I shouldn't have called them, I never believed Sephiroth has changed, if only I assessed him more, then maybe this couldn't have happened._ Tifa thought to herself.

"Move back Vincent!", Cloud said.

"No.", Vincent replied.

"You would betray us then? You would betray Aerith's sacrifice?", Cloud asked Vincent angrily.

"I know, If Aerith was alive right at this very moment, she would've stopped you herself.", Vincent told Cloud.

"How dare you speak like you know her so much like I do?", Cloud told Vincent, his voice higher.

"Because I know Aerith wouldn't want something like this to happen.", Vincent answered flatly.

"YOU-!"

Sephiroth gently placed his hand on Vincent's shoulder, Vincent turned to look at him, Sephiroth gave him a nod and said, "It's alright. I'll take his anger, you don't have to fight for my stand.", Sephiroth gave him a sad smile.

Vincent respecting his decision, moved away.

"You think I would go easy on you huh?", Cloud then gave Sephiroth another punch. He kept on punching him until Sephiroth fell down on his knees.

"I just killed you three times! And It's not enough, for all the people you killed and for killing Aerith, you deserved to die a thousand deaths!", Cloud spat at him. Then he spotted a metal pipe tube in a corner near Tifa's bar, it was about a meter long. Cloud went to it's direction and grabbed it. With that in hand, he rushed towards Sephiroth again and hit his head with it.

"CLOUD! No! stop it already! Can't you see? He's not even fighting you! Stop it! PLEASE!!!", Tifa protested.

"I can't look anymore… I never seen him get so beaten helplessly.", Nanaki lie down, covering his eyes with his paws and curling his tail in front of him.

"Geez… I can't take it anymore… I can't watch!", Yuffie said as she closed her eyes, with Vincent covering her with his cape, "Don't look…", Vincent told Yuffie. _I've never seen Cloud so mad before, he fights differently now, and Sephiroth, I never seen him accepting blows one after another without having to fight. Forgive me Lucrecia, but this is what he wished for, maybe accepting Cloud's anger is his way of atonement._

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST DIE!", Cloud shouted at the now bleeding Sephiroth. Sephiroth was now lying flat on the floor in a prone position. Then Cloud grabbed his hair and pulled him upward with it.

"Why don't you fight? Why don't you block or even dodge my attacks? WHY? TELL ME!", Cloud told him.

"J…just do…what you want… kill me… if…you…can…Strife. But what…I'm telling…your friends…earlier is that… I can't be killed… no…matter…how much… you try…", with that, he pushed Cloud's hand away from his hair and then shove Cloud away from him before taking a few steps backward then said, "If you don't want… to believe…me…then look!", he then pulled out a knife from his pocket and slit his wrists. And then he dipped the knife's sharp edge in his throat before slitting it. Blood began to spurt out. Cloud and the other's we're shocked.

"W-what are you doing?", Cloud asked

"No matter… how…much I bleed… I cannot…die… the planet…put a curse… upon…me. I can feel the pain! But then… even if… I wanted…. To drift away…. I cannot just…give up… I have…to see… her… my…beloved…mother…", Sephiroth then drop the knife from his hand then went unconscious and fell forward.

"he's…broken…", Barret said.

"W-what did I do…? I…", Cloud said

"Cloud!", Tifa called out as she run towards Cloud and hugged him.

"tifa…I…", Cloud said as his hands were shaking.

"Sshh…It's alright, you were blinded by your own hatred, let's just nurse him back to health, he'll not die. That's what he said right?", Tifa said to him.

"Y-yeah…I guess so…", Cloud replied calmly.

"SEPHIROTH!!!", a voice shouted.

They all turned to look and saw a hooded girl running towards Sephiroth. As she arrived at Sephiroth's unconscious form, she kneeled down and removed her hood, she took Sephiroth's form and shifted it so that his head is on her lap. She then looked at her friends, and seeing Tifa and Cloud so close together made her chest hurt.

"…aerith?", Cloud said not believing what he is seeing.

"Yes…it is indeed me.", aerith replied then turned to look at Sephiroth. She brushes his hair and put a hand on his cheek, then looked at Cloud, "You hurt him… You hurt him Cloud! He didn't even fight! But you continued hurting him! I saw your hatred, you never fight like that! When you fight, I can see your heart, the reason you fight is to protect, but a while ago, what I can see is pure hatred!", Aerith told him with a hint of anger in her voice as tears began to trickle down from her eyes to her cheeks.

"Sephiroth… Sephiroth… can you hear me? Please… open your eyes, I need you to move, you have to stand up so I can take you to my house and fix you up. Sephiroth!", Aerith said to him as she started to shove him a little harder.

"I'll carry him", Vincent said.

"Aerith… I… well, let's just proceed with the reunion later, for now you can take him to the room upstairs. I have some medical supplies, you can use it.", Tifa offered.

"Thank you…", Aerith replied to Tifa.

Vincent then carried Sephiroth and they all went inside Tifa's bar.

* * *

Chapter 6 finished! Gawd I really don't know how to make barret and cid speak in this chapter… I mainly focused on Cloud and Sephiroth, as well as Aerith… anyway, I have a lot in my mind already… I plan to pursue the crossover thingy as part of this story…but it will still remain a secret until it is time to reveal it. Haha! I gave you guys a hint…oh well till next update!^_^


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **All Final Fantasy characters are property of Square Enix.

**Note:** my gratitude to **GoddessAerith** for her continued patronage.

Here's Chapter 7, Enjoy reading!^_^

* * *

Chapter 7

He slowly opened his eyes, he winced a little feeling how much his body ached.

"Good morning!", someone greeted him. He turned to look and see that it was Aerith who greeted him.

"…morning.", he replied.

Aerith giggled and went to sit at his bedside. Sephiroth tried to sit but he then winced as he put an arm on his head. _Strife hit me really hard on my head._ He thought to himself.

"Are you ok? Just lie down… don't move it seems your wounds haven't healed yet.", as Aerith stood up and assisted him in lying back down.

"Where are we? And… how long am I sleeping?", he asked.

"We're at Tifa's and you've been sleeping for 3 days already."

"w-what? then…they already knew…about you…"

"yes…"

"But why did you-"

"Because… I don't want them to hurt you."

"I-I'm sorry… it's my fault, and…I want to apologize for everything I said about you."

"It's alright, I wanted to say sorry too… for shouting back at you. You're right, I really don't want to see them together, but if I keep doing that, I'll be tied to my past not having to be able to embrace the future.", Aerith then hold his hand and looked at him, then smiled. "I should really moved on, and moving on means facing my past, my fears and my pain. Thank you for helping me realizing what's more important."

Sephiroht looked at her, not wanting to turn his eyes off her beautiful face. Then he spoke, "It's alright, and I wanted to thank you too, for everything."

"well, I told Josie that you won't be able to come home because you're beaten, she then offered to come here. I think she'll be arriving soon.", Aerith told him.

"I have her worried about me again."

"Sephiroth…there's something I wish to tell you."

He looked at her then said, "what is it?"

"I-I just want you to know, that I really did want to stop you, back when you've completely lost your mind. But, now, I…I don't want to blame you, everything happened for a reason. And it taught me a lot. So please don't blame yourself. I forgive you.", She told him as she gripped his hand tighter.

He then looked down, turning his gaze away from her, "I… don't deserve your kindness Aerith."

"why not? Sephiroth, kindness is given to anyone whether someone needs it or not, trust is something to be given to those who gains it. Sephiroth, I wanted to show you kindness because I wanted to, I trusted you because you proved to me that you can be trusted. So please, don't ever think of yourself as someone who don't deserve any good things in this world."

"But…the things I've done are beyond unforgivable."

Aerith put her hands on his cheeks and tilted it to look at her direction. Sephiroth obeyed.

"Look at me, it's time that you create a new life. The kind of life you never had. The one filled with love instead of hatred, the one filled with the truth rather than the lies. That kind of life you once had is over Sephiroth. Today starts anew. And I will help you."

"I believe in you…Aerith. You are the only truth I believe in…but… I don't believe in myself. Not at all."

"then if you believe in me, the more I believe in you. Believe that you can, don't be afraid.", Aerith reassured him as she flashed him a sincere smile. Sephiroth looked at her eyes deeply and can see the sincerity of her words. _If only I have met you before hatred devoured my soul. I would have been a different Sephiroth. You could have been my salvation._ He told himself.

Then as Aerith looked deeply into his eyes, she can see the sadness that reflected his wounded soul. _I am a healer, and I wanted to heal everyone, even you.i wanted to show you the beauty of life._

Sephiroth then felt something he never felt before, he moved closer and closer, Aerith sensing this, didn't even move a little. She stayed there as she shifted her eyes to his lips. _This feeling, the feeling I have that same night, it's happening again I can feel my heart, beating so fast. Could it be…?, _she thought to herself as she closed her eyes gently.

Sephiroth seeing this closed his eyes and slowly, moving his face closer to hers. _I wanted to feel what it was to be loved, I wanted to feel you… Aerith I…I…_

Then the door opened. Cloud emerged from the doorway. Quickly, both Aerith and Sephiroth turned their faces away in an awkward manner. Cloud was shocked but then spoke, "Sorry, looks like I interrupted a scene, and it looks like you are very much awake now, Sephiroth. Someone was looking for you. Can you come down? I'll be going on ahead.", he closed the door behind him gently.

"Sorry…", Sephiroth stated.

"Why are you apologizing? You haven't done anything.", Aerith said and gave him a smile. "let's go down, I'll assist you, that must be Josie who's looking for you."

"Alright.", Sephiroth tried to stand up wincing a little.

"Can you stand up?"

"Yeah, I have to, or else I'll have a muscle dystrophy.", sephiroth said smiling.

Aerith smiled back and put an arm around his waist as she put Sephiroth's right hand over her shoulder. Then they went downstairs.

-------------------

They were all sitting down when aerith and Sephiroth arrived.

"Deary! Oh my goodness what happened to you?", Josie asked as she stood up from her seat.

Sephiroth put his hands off Aerith shoulder and gave her a nod. Aerith then free her hands on his waist.

"Thank you", he told Aerith before turning his attention to Josie. "I'm sorry I worried you, I'm fine."

"Oh… you don't look all that fine to me. Who did this to you? Those sailors again?"

"N-no… just got what I deserved jo…"

"Deserved? You don't deserve anything like this! You were such a good man.", she then embraced Sephiroth and started crying.

Sephiroth hugged her as he rubs his hands up and down her back to give comfort.

"Don't cry jo… it's nothing.", he then pushed her away from his chest gently, holding her shoulders with his hands then spoke, "It's alright.", he smiled at her.

"Oh…", Josie started to wipe her tears with her handkerchief.

* * *

"I really have to meet someone, I'll be back.", Josie told Sephiroth.

"Sure, but Jo, I… I'm going to leave soon.", Sephiroth told her.

"Oh, I know that, those people told me so.", Josie smiled

"W-what?"

"They told me that you're going away and that they'll be lending you an airship. But it seems something has to be fixed yet so it would take a lot of time."

"I…I see…"

"Take care Sephy, I'll visit you once in a while, Aerith told me that she will be taking care of you so I just let her.", Jo said and smiled.

"Oh, uhm… take care then Josie, see you around."

"I'll see you son…"

Then Josie left. Sephiroth returned inside the bar.

* * *

As he entered he noticed that Cloud was not among the group and even Aerith. Everyone was quiet. Sephiroth then walked near a chair a little further from everyone and took a seat.

"Hey, why are you sitting far away? Come here!", Yuffie told him smiling, cutting the silence.

He looked at them questioningly, everyone just gave a nod. He stood up and walked closer to them when suddenly, they all heard someone shouting.

"Why? Who are you to tell me what to do? Are you my father? My mother? You can't tell me what to do!"

"whoa…looks like they're arguing about something.", Yuffie said.

"I'll be going upstairs.", tifa told them, she then stood up and went upstairs.

Sphiroth looked at everyone, then followed Tifa.

* * *

"Calm down Aerith, what I'm saying here is that, you better stay away from him for good. We don't know what he's thinking. He might kill you again do you know that?", Cloud told Aerith.

"Cloud I understand what you're trying to say! You want me to stay away from him because he might kill me again!! But I know he wouldn't do that!", she stated.

"Listen, I'm just concern about you, I lost you once, and I wouldn't want to lose you again."

"You won't lose me, no one will lose me, Sephiroth is different from what you once remembered him to be."

Tifa then arrived upstairs hiding herself outside the room, listening to their conversation. Sephiroth arrived behind her and gave her a nod. Tifa nodded also and then they listened.

"Who knows, he's also collected when I knew him, I even admired him! But what happened? He suddenly went mad and went on a killing spree!"

"But that's a very long time ago!"

"Nothing's a long time ago as long as he is alive!"

"You don't know anything about him Cloud…"

"And you think you do?"

"yes"

"He destroyed my hometown, and killed my mother as well as Tifa's father!"

"I know! But it's still good that once in your life, you knew and felt what it was to be loved by your mother. Sephiroth didn't!"

"C'mon Aerith, what I'm saying is you just stay away from him. Let's not talk about him or his past!"

"I won't follow what you want, I'll be with him and that's final!"

"Are you choosing him over me? Over us?"

"I'm not choosing Cloud."

"But you are! He's even more important to us!"

"Cloud it's not like that!"

"Aerith… I still love you.", Cloud said,

Aerith was shocked. She didn't even deem to hear this from him now that he was engaged. As Tifa heard this, she quickly went down crying. Sephiroth remained, listening.

"No, you have Tifa, Cloud, You're engaged! You can't just call it off."

"I know, But we're just engaged, I…"

"NO! you'd better not do that!"

"Tell me you love me Aerith, tell me, I know deep down in your heart you still feel the special feeling we once had with each other. Although it was never said, I knew, we have it."

"No… I'm sorry Cloud. That love we once had, is over. Let's move on. It was never meant to be. I'm sorry."

"Then tell me, do you love him?"

"who?"

"Sephiroth…do you love him?"

"I…I don't know. But, i… I feel something different when I'm with him. Something so strong that… that I never felt before with anyone."

"I see, then it means… I really have to let go…"

"yes… love tifa Cloud. She loves you more than anyone.", Aerith smiled at him.

"Yeah… I know that… But… Aerith, whether or not he would see his mother or not, he'll still die, are you prepared for that?", Cloud asked.

"Yes… I…I know miracles can happen, the planet will forgive him, and something unusual will happen. It will, If I believe it would."

"Then I hope that miracle you're speaking of would really happen… I'm sorry… for what I said, I hope you'll be happy."

"Thank you Cloud, I'm sorry too, I wish you and Tifa happiness."

With that, Sephiroth went down.

* * *

Chapter 7 finished! Please R&R!^_^


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Final Fantasy 7, all is property of Square Enix. The song "Memories of Mother" , which was played by Sephiroth in this chapter is property of the anime Sugar a little snow fairy.

**Note: **My gratitude to **GoddessAerith** for another review.^_^ Sorry for the long wait…im pretty busy these past few days… lots of work to do. Well here's another chapter! The crossover I'm planning will push through, a friend of mine suggested that I should just make the places in FF7 looks like they were just in one big continent so other places would also be like in another continent. Just like how the real world looks like. I should just make countries!^_^

Anyway… Enjoy Reading!

* * *

Chapter 8

"I'll be heading down, do you wanna come?", Cloud asked Aerith.

"No, I'll stay here for a while.", she replied with a smile.

"Ok then…", Cloud said and went downstairs.

When Cloud went down, he saw that everyone was talking with each other, except for Tifa and Sephiroth who was nowhere to be found. Everyone turned their attention to Cloud.

"Cloud, what did you do to Tifa?", Nanaki asked.

"Me? I never done anything to her, by the way, where is she?", Cloud asked

"Went outside cryin', didn't even tell us where'd she go.", Cid said as he was lighting a cigar.

"What?"

"yeah! Tifa went upstairs the moment we all heard you and Aerith arguing about something, then suddenly she rushed downstairs, crying. She then went outside, I called her but she didn't even look back.", Yuffie said.

"W-what? Tifa went upstairs? But I never saw her there."

"She did, maybe she just listened outside the room, she didn't want to interrupt the conversation but, when she heard Aerith shouting she decided to check what's going on.", Nanaki told him.

Cloud was shocked. _She couldn't have-?. Dammit!_

"I think you should go and apologize to her.", Vincent told him.

"Of course I will! I'll be back!", Cloud then hurried himself to the door. But before totally going outside, he glanced back. "By the way, where is Sephiroth?"

"Dunno, he went downstairs a little later than Tifa. He looked a little bit down. Then went outside after saying goodbye.", Barret told him.

"I see… see you later then!", Cloud told them as he closed the door behind him.

"I wonder what happened…", Yuffie said.

"We'd better mind our own business, that's the best we can do.", Shelke replied.

"Guess so…"

* * *

Cloud dialed Tifa's number several times already after looking around town and still could not find her.

"Oh damn… please Tifa answer the phone. She must have heard when I told Aerith that I still love her. This all my fault! I'm so careless.", Cloud told himself.

Then a voice was heard on the other line.

"Tifa! Tifa! Listen I-I"

_Hi this is Tifa, please say your message after the beep…_

"Hello Tifa? I'm really really sorry, Could you please call me back? Let's talk about it please… I'll be waiting for your call."

_Beep beep beep…_

Cloud turned off his cellphone. Then an image flashed across Cloud's mind…

"_I like, no… I love this place a lot! Aerith love this place too! Look Cloud! We can see the stars here just like how we see it in Nibelheim back when we were still kids!", Tifa turned to look at him and giggled._

"_Yeah, back then I made a promise to you, that I'll be there for you when you need me. And I'm still keeping that promise Tifa. I'll just be here…for you…", Cloud said as he looked deep into her eyes._

_Tifa looked at him too then said, "I know… and I'll always believe in you…always…"_

_Then they kissed._

"Tifa…", Cloud muttered in a low voice that only he could hear. _I must not give up, I'll look for her!_

Then as the crowd of people was crossing the streets, on the other side he saw Tifa standing, staring in his direction. Cloud couldn't believe what he saw and then he shouted, "TIFA!", he then run towards her direction and when he reached her, he hugged her tightly.

"I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to…hurt you…", he mumbled in her hair.

"It's alright…I…I know that you still love her, I thought I could help you move on, but…I guess I failed. She still holds your heart. And i… I can't do anything to replace her…", Tifa said as she burst out into tears and hugged him in a tight embrace.

Cloud gently pushed her, removing her arms around him, and then putting her hands on his chest as he hold it with his hand, his other hand wiping the tears from her face.

"Tifa, It's true that I still love her, but I believe, what she said is true, that love was never meant to be. I was just overwhelmed without even realizing what I'm really feeling for her, maybe… I just missed her, and the thing that I told her, maybe because it's something I never told her when she was still alive. That's why when I get carried away with our conversation, the side of me that wanted to tell her that gets the better of me. It is something that I've hidden, much like the thing that I cannot forgive myself for losing her with me just watching. I'm really sorry Tifa.", Cloud told her with sincerity in his eyes.

"It's alright.", then she put her hands away from him and then removed the ring he gave to her.

"I'm giving this back, and I'm setting you free. I want you to decide whether or not you want to come back to me. I'll just be waiting, I don't want you to enter a relationship where you're not sure yourself. If you want her, then give it to her, if you choose me, then I'd be much happy to take it…again.", Tifa said smiling. Then she holds Cloud's hand and put the ring in his palms. Then she turned her back on him and started to walk away.

Cloud stared at the ring for a moment, and then turned to look at Tifa walking away from him, away from his life.

"Tifa! Wait!"

Tifa stopped then turned to look at him.

"Do you still remember the promise I told you back when we were kids? That I'll be there for you…when you need me, I just want you to know, that I plan to keep that promise. I'm going to say it again to you." He then walked towards her then he kneeled down before her then grasps her left hand. The people around stopped to look at them. The people around them were smiling, some were giggling, waiting what's going to happen next.

"Cloud! What are you doing? Everyone was looking! Stand up will you?"

"I will, but not after I said this. Tifa, I just wanted to tell you that, I want to be with you, and just like I promised that day, in nibelheim, I'll be there for you, but now, I'll be there not just when you need me, but always, forever, as long as we live. Will you accept my promise…again?", Cloud asked.

Cheers were heard from the crowd.

"Say yes!", a woman said among the crowd gathered near them.

"accept it!"

"miss won't you say yes?"

Tifa heard the people urging her to say yes. Tifa looked around her, and then she looked at Cloud as tears fell down to her cheeks.

"Yes, I'll accept it, but if you do that again, I'll swear, I'll kick you so hard that I'll send you to the lifestream myself.", she said as she cried and giggled at the same time, accepting the ring once again.

Cloud stood up, "Thank you Tifa, for another chance, I swear, I won't try to do something stupid again. Thank you… I love you.", he hugged her in a tight embrace.

"And I love you too.", Tifa replied as she embraced Cloud.

The crowd cheered around them.

* * *

_Well, I better go down now…_ Aerith thought to herself as she went out of the room and closed the door. She went downstairs and saw that everyone was having a conversation. Barret was pulling a joke.

"hey, I've learned a new joke today… ya all wanna hear it huh?" It's real damn funny!", Barret said.

"Sure just keep 'em coming!", Cid replied.

"What did the apple said to the pineapple who was lookin' at him?", Barret asked them.

"Who is the sweetest?", Aerith said as she approached the group smiling.

"Nah", Barret answered smiling also.

"Hey Aerith!", Yuffie said happily.

"Hello yuffie, hello guys, do you mind if I sit join you?", Aerith asked them.

"Nah we dun mind! Barret here is telling us some joke! Have a seat and enjoy yerself!", Cid invited.

"Thank you Cid.", Aerith replied smiling.

"so Barret what was the answer?", Nanaki asked.

"Ya sure ya don't wanna try asking?", Barret asked them.

"We give up! C'mon just tell us!", Yuffie said.

"Alright… It's… 'Hey pineapple, what the hell are you lookin', lookin', lookin', lookin', lookin', lookin', lookin', lookin' at?", with that Barret laughed so hard. Nanaki joined him in laughing.

"uh… is that suppose to be a joke?", Yuffie asked.

"The other one a while ago was a lot better.", Vincent said.

"That didn't make me laugh! Another one!", Cid said.

"What wrong with you guys? It's a pretty good joke, I really did find it funny… the pineapple looks like it has so many eyes! The question that apple asked him really suits the pineapple and it was really funny!", Nanaki told them.

Aerith giggled and spoke, "Well yeah, it's kinda funny... Oh!"

"What's wrong Aerith?", Nanaki asked her.

"Where is Cloud and Tifa…? And uhmm… Sephiroth?"

"Tifa went out a while ago, she went upstairs to check up on you and Cloud, since we can all hear both of you arguing. But then she came down crying and head outside. We weren't even able to ask her where she was going.", Yuffie said.

"Cloud went out to follow her just a moment ago.", Vincent added.

"I see… Oh… she must've overheard our conversation…"

"Definitely Aerith, she won't go down cryin' like that if she wasn't even affected of what're ya talkin' about with Cloud.", Barret said.

"Yeah I agree…", Cid said.

"Can we know what is it that you and Cloud were conversing about?", Nanaki asked.

"Well, It's about me and Sephiroth. Said he doesn't want me and Sephiroth together, that he might harm me. But I didn't agree, Sephiroth isn't like that anymore! He's a changed man believe me guys…"

"I can see that.", Vincent agreed.

"Well I don't sense some malice in him either.", Nanaki said.

"Was it like, what you see is what you get?, Yuffie asked.

"Yes, I believe in his words and actions as well…", Shelke added.

"I wouldn't even agree to remodel the tiny bronco just for him if it weren't for yer request Aerith. I think I'm beginning to see what ya see in him.", Cid said.

"He looked change, but I still agree with Cloud. He may still be pretty dangerous.", Barret said.

"I see what you mean Barret… It's alright I understand you. And thank you everyone, for believing in him. Anyway I think I must go look for him he may be wandering around. I'm afraid he's not that well yet so… If I excuse myself.", Aerith told them.

"Hey, I think it's not a pretty good idea that ya went out at this time, It's almost nighttime, ya might get yerself in trouble if ya can't find him soon.", Cid said.

"No I'll be fine, trust me, I know where to find him.", Aerith smiled at them.

"Do you want me to accompany you?", Vincent asked her.

"No need Vincent, I swear I know where to find him, If ever he's not there, I'll just head back here. Or if something not right happens, I'll just give you guys a call. Cloud gave me a phone so I can contact all of you. He gave me all your numbers.", Aerith explained to them.

"Alright, take care then Aerith!", Yuffie said as she gave her a hug.

"Thank you Yuffie, I'll take care of myself I promise.", Aerith told her as she hugged her also.

"Well then, just give us a call.", Barret reminded her.

"Yes sir!", Aerith giggled then went outside.

* * *

Aerith then walked towards downtown Edge, heading to Josie's settlement. When she arrived there, It was already 6:30pm. She saw Sephiroth siiting outside the shelter, his right leg extended, his left leg was flexed and his left arm was outstretched and was using his left knee as a support. He was staring out into the sky. He was leaning his back on the makeshift wall of the shelter he now considered a home. His hair was swaying slightly as the cold evening wind was beating it. His bangs were dangling on his face swaying also. He was so engrossed at looking at the night sky that he failed to notice Aerith.

_Did anyone reminded me that he looks so perfect. I've never seen him like this before, he's beautiful. _Aerith thought to herself as she was just standing a distance away from him. _What am I thinking? I came here to fetch him. Stop it Aerith, stop staring!_ She screamed at herself. When she finally recovered her senses, she approached him.

"The stars were looking good tonight! Don't you think?", Aerith told Sephiroth. Sephiroth was startled to see Aerith, and then smiled at her.

"Yeah…"

"Do you mind if I join your little stargazing activity?", Aerith asked.

"N-no… I don't really mind.", Sephiroth moved a little so Aerith could take a comfortable seat beside him.

"Thank you", She smiled as she sat beside him comfortably. She then now stared at the night sky.

"The stars are really bright tonight, Do you like stars Sephiroth?", She turned to look at him as she asks the question.

"Sort of… There were no stars in Midgar, so I never really appreciate stargazing. Besides, I was always confined in my room.", he answered truthfully. "What about you Aerith, do you like them?"

"Well… I never really see the sky when I was living down the plate. I used to be really scared of the sky… weird isn't it? Everybody loves to stare out into the sky, but me… I'd rather stay at home. I used to be like that, but not anymore…", She answered smiling.

"No… not really… everybody has their own fears."

"Yeah… what about you? Do you have fears?"

"A few…"

"Do you want to tell me? It's alright if you don't want to.", Aerith said as she looked at him. Sephiroth looked at her a few seconds then shifted his gaze back to the sky.

"Well… I have 3 greatest fears when I was young. First was my fear of having to go the laboratory everyday for an appointment with Hojo. Second, was my fear of killing people and third, my fear of being alone. When I became a SOLDIER and all throughout my life I am submitted to Hojo's experiments, I overcame 2 from my greatest fears. When I met my friends, I now have another fear. The fear of having to lose those whom I treasure.", Sephiroth then shifted his gaze to the ground.

"I-I'm sorry… I shouldn't have asked you about your fears.", Aerith told him.

"N-no… It's alright. And now I found another fear… the three greatest fears I now have are my fear of being alone, losing those who became important to me and lastly…", He then turned to look at Aerith, "to lose the hope that I am holding on…"

Aerith looked at him, both their gazes deepening. Aerith's heart was beating faster, she couldn't turn away from his powerful gaze, she feels like she's almost drowning. _I can't breathe! W-why? Why does Sephiroth has this kind of effect on me…? Do I…Do I love him, just like what Cloud said?_

Their faces comes closer and closer, Aerith's heart began to pound so much yet she didn't stop Sephiroth, seeing what's supposed to happen she just closed her eyes. _I don't want him to stop, I want to feel him, how would it feel when his lips touched mine? I wanted to know… I want to know if I truly feel something for him._

_I don't know why I feel so attracted to her… I've never felt anything so strong. This is some kind of a very cruel punishment… We get so close together, and me falling deeper and deeper for her every minute of the day, knowing that I'll be leaving soon, how cruel my fate can be. Maybe I was not meant to experience happiness._ Sephiroth then stopped, his face an inch from hers, he's looking at Aerith's beautiful face, eyes closed, her lips that looks so inviting, but he can't! Knowing that he was cursed, cursed to live alone and die alone. Not even permitted to love, have a family of his own and live a quiet normal life like the one he wished for ever since he thinks of leaving Shinra.

_I must not make her fall for me… I don't want her to be hurt, to experience the pain of losing someone important. No, I don't want Aerith to be unhappy, I'd rather see her hate me, rather than seeing her hurt because of me. This has got to stop._

He whispered near her lips the words…"Forgive me.", then he retreated. Aerith opened her eyes, and saw Sephiroth as he turn to look at the ground.

"I-I'm sorry… Sephiroth… You shouldn't apologize. It's alright.", then she gently placed a hand on his.

Sephiroth looked at her..thinking that he should not fall anymore. His feelings should be stopped, he'll just be a good friend to Aerith, he doesn't want Aerith to hate him either, not now.

Aerith stood up then offered her hand on Sephiroth, urging him to hold her hand and stand up, Sephiroth did so.

"Well, go pack your things, and let's go home, to my house." Aerith told him smiling sweetly.

"I think I'll just stay here, I can take care of myself."

"Oh no you don't mister! I promised Josie that I'll take care of you, so don't refuse ok? And I really doubt that you can take care of yourself."

"I'll just be a burden."

"Oh c'mon! then try not to be one! Right?"

"I'll just wait for Josie…"

"She's not coming back Seph."

"What do you mean?"

"Her sister who's living in Timber is dying. And as an only relative, she'll take care of her, the doctor said that her sister can live up to 6 months the most, so she won't be coming back, that's why she entrusted you to my care."

"S-she didn't tell me… I thought that she's just going to see someone."

"She said she doesn't want to hurt your feelings."

"She keeps telling me that she'll miss me when the time has come for me to leave her, but she's the first one who left without even saying a proper goodbye.", Sephiroth then turned his back on Aerith and gazed at the ground.

"I know how you feel… but really, I have to take care of you, you're careless at times you know?", aerith said half jokingly. "Well go pack up your things so we can go now and take a rest, this day was so tiring.",she stretched her hands upwards.

"But…I don't have anything to pack up…"

"Oh… then we'll just buy you some new clothes."

"I'll use my savings. I saved it to serve as my pocket money when I'm going to search for my mother, I'll just have to work it out again."

"You don't need the money for your journey anymore. Cid decided to remodel his tiny bronco to make it fly, he'll place it on the Sierra, he said that when we get to the place you'll pilot the tiny bronco to get to your mother's tomb."

"…"

"You're speechless! Were you surprised? Sorry I tried persuading him but he really couldn't let you use the sierra, so he's just remodeling the bronco. It will take him a month, that's what he said."

"Thank you Aerith, you did so much for me."

Aerith blushed, "I-it's nothing. Well are you ready?"

"yeah…Thank you again."

* * *

They went to a clothes' shop and bought some supplies for Sephiroth using his money. His choices of clothes are exquisite, all he chooses fits him very well, Aerith was not surprised to see that all the clothing he bought were all color black. Some were white, but mostly his apparels were black.

When they were done shopping, they decided to drink something from a nearby café.

"Well, that was fun! You choose really quickly, like you already knew what you're going to buy.", Aerith said, taking a sip from her mango shake.

"When you're in SOLDIER, you must really know how to get dressed quickly."

"I see… Oh yeah, can we head to the flower shop beside the music store before going home? I'm going to get something from there."

"Sure."

After they finished their drink, they started for the flower shop Aerith was talking about. "Designer's Bloom" is the name of the shop.

"Let's go inside."

"No, I'll just wait for you right here."

"Are you sure?"

Sephiroth nodded.

"Okay then, It won't take long.", then she went inside the store.

Sephiroth turned to look at the music store beside the flower shop, His attention was caught by the grand piano inside the store. Suddenly Aerith went out from the flower shop and saw Sephiroth looking at the window of the music store. She went up to him and followed his gaze.

"Do you like the piano?", aerith asked smiling.

Sephiroth was startled.

Aerith giggled and said, "Did I startle you? Sorry, you look so caught up with that piano. It's beautiful isn't it?"

"yes…"

"do you know how to play a piano?"

"A little…"

"then try playing something for me!", Aerith hold Sephiroth's hand and drag him inside the store.

"W-wait Aerith stop it…"

"C'mon it's alright!"

"Excuse me… may I help you with something?" the storeowner asked them.

"Well…yes! Can my friend try playing this piano? He really likes it.", Aerith said cheerfully.

"Sure. No one really had an interest with it, may be no one knows how to play it.", the storeowner told Aerith.

"Thank you!", then she look at Sephiroth, " See I told you! Go and take a seat… I'll listen."

Sephiroth looked at the storeowner again, "Are you sure?"

"Go ahead. I really like the piano, but I do not know how to play it.", the owner said smiling.

Sephiroth took his seat and started to check if the keys were still good. Then he turned to look at Aerith and the owner before proceeding.

When his hands lay on the keys, he played the notes beautifully. He closed his eyes as his fingers played the song. When he finished playing it. Aerith and the store owner clapped at him.

"It's beautiful… I really liked it Seph.", Aerith told him smiling.

"Yeah, the melody was relaxing, and the notes, they were like implying some message. It's wonderful.", the storeowner added.

"Thank you… I'm glad both of you liked it.", Sephiroth told them.

"What's the title of that melody?", Aerith asked.

"Memories of Mother"

"Did you compose it?", the storeowner asked.

"Yes…"

"wow! You're the one who composed it? It's beautiful Seph."

"Thank you."

"You can come here whenever you feel like playing the piano, I'm sure the owner of this piano would be really happy."

"who's the owner of the piano?", aerith asked.

"Well, she's a pianist, but she died in an accident long time ago, her husband decided to put it here on sale. Said he doesn't want to see anything that make him remember his deceased wife. He put it here because this the same store that his wife used to love and the place where she learned to play the piano. Although we're really in Midgar, my grandfather decided to open a store here in Edge since this is the place that made people remember what is left of MIdgar."

"I see…", Aerith then turned to look at Sephiroth, "You can play the piano everytime you wanted to! Isn't that nice?"

"Yeah…"

"In exchange for playing the piano, would you compose some more songs?"

"Sure… I'd be glad.", Sephiroth answered.

"Thanks!"

The storeowner's name was Alex, he told Aerith and Sephiroth about the story of their store, after hearing his story, they decided to go home, they thanked and left Alex and went on their way to Aerith's house.

* * *

Then they finally arrived at Aerith's doorstep. Aerith opened the door but when Sephiroth followed, she halted him on the doorway.

"Wait a minute!"

"Okay."

"You'll have to close your eyes first", Aerith told him.

"b-but why?"

"Just do it"

Sephiroth closed his eyes, and he felt Aerith hold his hand.

"Don't open it unless I told you okay? Just trust me."

She guided his footsteps, when they entered, Aerith closed the door behind and locked it. Then she continued guiding Sephiroth until they stopped. He turned Sephiroth to look at the living room.

"Open your eyes!"

When he opened it, he saw that something in her house changed. There was now a new sofa bed.

"That's for you, I bought it when you were unconscious. The moment Josie asked me to take care of you. Sorry that there's no other room left."

"It's alright, you don't really have to do this, I'm fine even by sleeping on a hard floor."

"Sorry, but you will be my guest so, you have to feel comfortable.", Aerith said as she put her hands on her hips and then laughed, the kind of laugh Sephiroth wants to hear that definitely reminds him of Aerith. The hearty laugh that is pure happiness, he wanted to hear it everyday, like a melody to his ears.

"Let's fix your things, I'll go get you blankets and pillows, wait a minute ok?", she then turn to go upstairs.

"Aerith…", Sephiroth called back. Aerith turned to look at him.

"Thank you…"

Aerith gave him a beautiful smile. Then went upstairs.

Then after a moment Aerith came down with 2 pillows and a blanket. They fixed the sofa bed so that Sephiroth could sleep in it comfortably.

"There you go, well… time to sleep!", Aerith giggled.

"Yeah… Thank you again."

"No problem… at least I won't be alone here anymore…", she flashed him a smile.

"yeah…"

"Well I better go up now, goodnight Seph, sleep tight! See you tomorrow.", then after smiling at him, she went upstairs.

"Aerith.", Sephiroth called after her again.

"yes?"

"Goodnight too, and sweet dreams.", Sephiroth said.

"Sweet dreams too. And… I forgive you…", She smiled and hurried upstairs.

He was shocked, _forgave him? For what he did? For killing her? She's really… one of a kind._ Sephiroth thought to himself. He settled himself on the sofa and keeps on thinking about Aerith.

_For once in my life…I learned to be hopeful. I really hope… the planet will create a miracle, just like what she said to Strife. I don't want to do my mission unless it's already the last day of the contract, I want to spend more time with her, If only the planet would permit me._

Then he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Finished! One pretty long chapter to make up for the days I couldn't update! Hope you liked it! Here's the link to the "memories of mother" Enjoy! Till next update!^_^

http: // www. youtube. com/ watch?v=0TKd7NuhHZU

just rmove the spaces!^_^


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** All final fantasy characters are property of Square Enix.

**Note:** Thanks to **Ikumi19** for her review.

Enjoy!^_^

* * *

Chapter 9

Aerith woke up and hurriedly and went downstairs to check if Sephiroth didn't leave the house, as far as she knows him, he would be too shy to stay, because she knows that he still feels guilty for all the wrong things he had done not only to her and to her friends, but to all the people living in Gaia.

When she went down, she saw that Sephiroth was already up as well and was fixing his bed. Sephiroth looked at her.

"Is anything wrong?, he asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Oh! It's nothing… I'm just glad you didn't leave." She then smiled at him.

"You were worried that I might escape?", he chuckled softly.

"C'mon! It's not funny!"

"Alright, I know… sorry for laughing."

Aerith smiled then spoke, "So… what would you like for breakfast? I don't really have much in my fridge right now, but I'll try to serve a good breakfast for both of us. I'll try to go to the market later to buy something for lunch."

"Anything's fine Aerith.", He replied with a smile.

"B-but…"

Sephiroth halted her then walk towards the kitchen and went to open the fridge.

"So… you have some eggs, cheese, butter…", He then walked towards her cupboard and when he opened it he saw that there was bellpeppers and onions. He turned to look at the table, there was a loaf of bread.

"If you don't mind, Can I cook breakfast for us?"

"S-sure… I don't really mind!", she smiled.

"Then may I ask for you to wait for me at the dining table?"

"okay, no problem… but what will you be preparing?", she asked curiously.

"Something that I always cook whenever I feel like eating bread for breakfast.", he smiled.

"And what do you call that magical dish'?", Aerith asked as she walked towards him smiling.

"Well… It's… Sephiroth's special omelet.", He answered her.

"Really! I love omelets! Then I'll just be waiting for the omelets to be cooked!

"Yeah, sure."

Aerith then turned towards the dining area and waited.

* * *

Sephiroth washed the bellpeppers, and onions before cutting them. He cut the bell peppers into strips and cut the onion vertically. He set them aside, next thing he did was to cut the cheese in small cubes, that done, he then set it aside as well. He set the pan on the stove heated it before putting a slice of butter on the pan. He crack the eggs open and put them into a bowl, beat them till they were pretty fluffy. He sautéed the onions first, then followed by the bellpeppers, he poured some beaten egg onto the pan, followed by the cubed cheeses. He allows it to be formed before flipping it onto the other side. He repeats the procedure with the remaining beaten eggs. When the omelets are cooked, he garnish it with grated cheese then took the plates towards the dining area. He put the plates down on the table and seated.

"Hmm… It smells good, and it looks yummy!", Aerith exclaimed as she smelled the dish set in front of her.

"Well… dig in". Sephiroth said smiling.

"Okay, here goes.", She forked a small serving and took a small portion and eat it. She was nodding her head slightly as she chewed the omelet.

"It's good! It is so delicious Sephiroth! I can't believe you can cook something so good!"

"I'm glad that you like it…"

"Hahaha! Of course, how can I not like it? It's so delicious really! Do you really cook?"

"Sometimes. But I only cooked simple meals, I just give them some twist to make a more unique taste."

"Wow Is this one of your hobbies?"

"Yeah, when I don't like the food served at the Shinra building cafeteria, I just cook my own meals."

"that's great! Well, since we talked about hobbies, what do you usually do on your spare time aside from cooking?", she asked as she chewed an omelet together with a bite from a loaf of bread.

"Well…", he began as he took a bite off his egg sandwich. "I play the piano, I read books, paint and hone my skills through hardcore training.", he finished as he took another bite.

"I see… you love books? So basically what kind of books do you read? I don't really read books, I'm not familiar with novels either except for one. It is really famous in Midgar, they even made it into a play! Hmmm… I forgot what's the title though…"

"Loveless."

"Oh yeah that's it! Do you know that story?"

"Yeah…"

"that's good! Well… what kind of books do you read?"

"Tactical and military strategy guide, some novels and historical documents."

"What kind of novels do you read? Is it about romance?""

"Yes…"

"Like what?", Aerith asked eagerly.

"Loveless, Romeo and Juliet, and other Shakespearean novels and I want to be your canary by Lord Avon. Those were just some of the books I read."

"Wow! I don't even know what the other books are aside from Loveless, Romeo and Juliet and I want to be You canary.", Aerith replied giggling.

"It's alright, a lot of people were not really fond of books either. What about you? What kind of books do you read?"

"Well… I only had one book, the one that my stepmother gave me for my 8th birthday. The title of that book is 'Cinderella'. Funny right? It's a child's story!", she chuckled softly.

"Well… I haven't heard of that book, just to be honest."

"You don't? But almost everybody knows it, even the kids."

"Well I never experienced to read something like that when I was a kid."

"Oh! I'm sorry…"

"You don't have to apologize.", sephiroth smiled then continued, "So what was the story about Cinderella?"

"Well, she suffered from her stepmother and two stepsisters, she was forced to work difficult labor, she was treated like a common slave. But she never really hated them for doing that to her, she still help her stepsisters whenever they need her. Despite being maltreated, and couldn't have anything for herself any material things, Cinderella dreamt of only one thing in her life… do you want to know what is it?", Aerith asked him.

"What is it then?", he asked curiously.

"To meet the prince, the son of the king who ruled their kingdom."

"So did she meet him?", he asked interestingly.

"Wait! Let me tell you the story little by little.", she said giggling.

"Oh…okay…sorry." He said chuckling.

"The King sent out invitations to all the ladies in the kingdom to attend a ball so that the prince could choose whom to marry. The king's messengers dispersed all around the kingdom to give out invitations. When the messengers arrived at Cinderella's house they were given 4 invitations."

"So those were for her and her stepsisters together with their stepmother right?"

"Yeah…but when the time came for the ball, her stepmother tear up her invitation so she won't be able to attend."

"That's so cruel, what happened next?", he asked again eagerly.

Aerith giggled and said," Well, she cried, but that night, her fairy godmother came, she transformed Cinderella's wretched clothes into a beautiful ball gown, she even gave her a carriage to be able to go to the palace and gave her a pair of glass slippers and an instruction that she may go to the ball but as the clock strikes 12, she must return for the spell will break. When she went to the ball the prince fell in love with her instantly. And in that one magical night, Cinderella get to dance with the prince she always dreamt of, she was so happy. All the people were staring at her as well as the prince who was mesmerized by her beauty. But when the clock strikes 12, she started to run back home, and all the magic casted to her disappeared."

"Did she ever get to meet the prince again?"

"Well, when she ran away from the palace, one of her glass slippers slips off from her foot. The prince used that to search for her. He gave an order to every young lady in town to wear it and whoever gets to fit the shoe perfectly will be the one whom he will get married. And as you know, the shoe perfectly fitted in Cinderella's foot, she then put out the other pair. After that she was taken to the palace, she and the prince got married, and they live happily ever after! The end!", she finished as she drinks her glass of orange juice.

"There was a flaw in the story."

"hmm? Is there?"

"Yes…"

"What is it?"

"If the shoe perfectly fits Cinderella's feet, why did it slip off from her in the first place?"

"I never thought of that! You're right! Oh well… it was really a fictional story of fantasy and romance."

"I guess the true lesson in that story is that, no matter how everyone thinks how perfect something really is, there would always be imperfections, just like how the glass slippers that said to be perfectly fitted on Cinderella's feet slip off from her as she ran away from the palace. And that you'll have to work hard to improve those imperfections, just like what the prince had done, in order to find Cinderella."

"I see… you're great Seph! You were able to notice that?", she said smiling.

"Don't tell me you didn't?"

"Well… I really haven't paid any attention to the flaws of the story, what matters to me most is that, Cinderella lived happily ever after with her prince.", she then stood up and carried her plates towards the kitchen sink. She glanced back at Sephiroth and said, "Well, If you're already finished with the dishes, just put them here in the sink, I'll wash them."

Sephiroth stood up and followed her in the kitchen. He put down his plate and other utensils he used in the sink.

"I'll wash them.", He said to her smiling.

"No, I'll do that, you prepared the breakfast remember?", she replied.

"But, let me do it as a sign of my gratitude to you, for letting me live here in your house until your friend Cid Highwind finished fixing the transportation."

"Okaaay…then. Why don't we wash the dishes together?", she said giggling.

"hmm… sounds interesting.", he said then smiled.

They washed the dishes together, they talk once in a while, Aerith being the one who always starts up the conversation, while Sephiroth answers her queries the best he could. After washing the dishes, Aerith put away her pink apron and hang it on the wall.

"Well, now that we're finished eating and fixing everything, why don't we go outside?", She said as she flashed him a big smile.

"Hmm… I think that's a good idea, but I think I need to find a part time job. I wanted to help pay the finances until the day I'll be living here with you. Maybe I should go apply again at the pier."

"You don't really have to Sephiroth, besides, I'm not selling flowers on the street anymore! Remember the flower shop we visited last night?"

"yes."

"well, you see… the flower shop bought all of my flowers! Truth is, the owner, Mrs. Elma wants me to deliver the flowers to her either today or tomorrow, and wants me to keep delivering, whenever she needs it. And she'll pay for all of it! Can you believe it? Haha! I don't really have to go to the streets to sell them. Sweet right?", she said giggling.

"That's nice, I'm happy for you Aerith.", he said as he smiled at her.

"thanks! Well…", she walked towards the dining area as Sephiroth followed then stopped near the stairs. "I'm planning to deliver the flowers tomorrow, so that we could walk around town what do you think? Nice?"

"Yeah, but… I think you just have to deliver it now, and let's just do the walk-around-town tomorrow." He said smiling.

"OK then, after we deliver the flowers, please accompany me to the market, so I could buy something for lunch and dinner."

"No problem."

"Well then, I'll go take a bath now! You too…", She replied smiling and then went upstairs.

* * *

Sephiroth went inside the bathroom just across the living room, he went inside and took off his garments. He then turned on the shower, he closed his eyes and let the water drip from his body. _I wanted to stay, I do not want to leave, but I wanted to see my mother. Oh planet… I don't know, I'm confused. Maybe I shouldn't think about that too much. If only I have met her and be with her… none of this would have happened. She draws out all my worries and sadness as well as my confusions with just a simple smile. She's like a river that keeps flowing no matter what happens. She treats me as a long time friend, and never even thinks about me killing her, impaling my masamune on her frail body and filling the altar with her blood._

A sudden flashback of what happened flashed across his mind and Sephiroth winced at the memory._ I shouldn't really think too much, I must make her happy, that's the least I can do for her after what I did to her. Her kindness is not what I deserve but she thinks it is, I should just make my stay be more of benefit to her. That's right, I'm going to do things the usual way as not to make her think about my departure as well._

With that in mind, Sephiroth took a nice bath.

After bathing, he went out of the bathroom with his black pants on and his top bare. He put the towel in his hair he was walking towards the sofa to get his things, new clothes and others. He chose to wear a black turtleneck sleeveless top similar to SOLDIER uniforms except that the top was made of stretch cotton fabric unlike the SOLDIER uniform that was knitted.

He combed his hair and tied it in a high ponytail using a black band, and left his two bangs fall to his face. He then heard Aerith going downstairs. When he turned to look at the direction, he saw Aerith wearing a white haltered Sunday dress. It perfectly fitted her curves, and matching the dress, she wore a white 1 inched sandals. He almost felt his heart beat so fast at the sight of her. She looks very beautiful, the color of her dress made her look so divine contrasting his all black outfit.

_Great_. He thought sarcastically. _I totally look like a demon next to her. Nice choice Seohiroth, you just proved to be a million miles apart from her._

"Well? Are we good to go?", she smiled, "Oh! You tied your hair up? It enhanced your features more. Next time, I want to braid your hair. I really wish you could let me.", she said giggling.

He chuckled before looking back at her.

"You want to braid my hair?"

"Yeah..?"

"When I feel like braiding it.", he smiled slyly.

They both laughed and after a minute, Aerith stopped then said, "Well, looks like we're good to go!", she then headed towards the front door, and Sephiroth followed.

_This is going to be a very long day._ He thought as he smiled at himself.

* * *

This is my new chapter! Sorry for the long wait… I'm pretty busy it's examination week….

Till next update!^_^v


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** The song "river flows in you" by yiruma is used here to emphasize Sephiroth's piano composition. It is not mine or even a property of Square, the song was originally composed by **YIRUMA**.

Thank you to **pigeonina and superkule** for their reviews on chapter 9!^_^

* * *

Chapter 10

Aerith and Sephiroth decided to deliver the flowers to the shop, after that they roam around town, they went to visit Alex, the owner of the music store. After that they decided to head to the marketplace and buy some ingredients for lunch. After going to the marketplace, they decided to return home.

Upon arriving home, Aerith insisted on preparing lunch for both of them since Sephiroth cooked their breakfast this morning. Sephiroth didn't argue with her and decided to look at some books inside the shelf located at one corner. While looking at the books, he noticed a collection of novels, he pulled out one from the shelf, the book was a hardbound, dark blue cover, the title of the book was written in gold prints, he wipe the dust off the book, as he was doing this the table beside the shelf caught his attention.

The table was made of wood, and there were pictures atop the table. Pictures of a young Aerith together with Elmyra, Aerith alone in the garden located just outside the house, Elmyra's solo pictures, ELmyra's wedding picture, a man beside her, arms around her waist. _Probably her husband_, he thought. Those were the only pictures he saw, then proceeded to walk towards the sofa and took a seat. He began to read the novel.

Aerith watched him from the kitchen and when she saw that Sephiroth settled down on the sofa, she just smiled to herself. Suddenly a doorbell was heard. She turned to the direction of the sound, Sephiroth stopped reading the book and looked towards the direction of the sound. Then he and Aerith looked at each other. He then stood up and closed the book making a slight fold on the page he was currently reading on as he shut the book close.

"I'll get it.", he then placed the book on the sofa and headed towards the door, when he opened it alex was there together with a big truck.

"Good day Sephiroth! I decided to bring the piano into Aerith's home, since no one's gonna buy it and it occupies a lot of space in my store, can I drop it in here so that you can always play the piano and compose songs, what do you say?", Alex smiled.

"Well…I-I don't really know Alex, I'm not the owner of the house, it's Aerith. So it's up for her to decide."

"Sure Alex! You can put it in here!", Aerith replied as she appeared behind Sephiroth.

"Aerith-?", Sephiroth answered questioningly.

"Alright! So just tell me where to put it ms. Aerith."

"Alright.", Aerith said smiling.

* * *

After Alex and some companions brought the piano down on the corner Aerith told them, they decided to go home, they thanked Aerith and Sephiroth and left. Aerith closed the door.

"Well… looks like you're gonna play the piano for me everyday!", Aerith said giggling.

"I guess so, then I suppose I should compose more songs.", Sephiroth said smiling.

"You better! And make sure it's as lovely as your previous piece.", Aerith replied then head towards the kitchen to continue her cooking.

* * *

Sephiroth tried to play some notes on the piano, he pressed some keys and played them quite harmoniously, then he occasionally stop to write the notes on a piece of paper.

"Seph, Can you please help me with this?"

Sephiroth turned to look at her direction.

Aerith appeared from the kitchen doorway, holding a platter with both hands. Sephiroth hurriedly stood up and took the platter from her hands.

"Thank you.", she said smiling. "I'll go get the plates and utensils." She then went back into the kitchen. He placed the platter on the table, Aerith arrived with a couple of plates and 2 forks. She gestured for him to take a seat. She put down the utensils, gave a plate to him and a fork. Then she opened the cover on the platter and revealed a delicious looking carbonara.

"Hmm… smells nice don't you think?", she said giggling. "Oh! I forgot to get the glasses and a pitcher of Iced tea. I'll go back okay?", Sephiroth touched her elbow and said, "I'll go get it." Then he smiled at her and went towards the kitchen. He returned with the pitcher in his right hand and 2 glasses on his left, he placed them on the table as he took a seat.

"Thank you. Well… let's eat!", she smiled and placed some carbonara on her plate. As she finished serving herself, Sephiroth took some.

"I'm planning to bake a carrot cake later. Do you want that?", she asked.

"carrot…cake?", he asked puzzled.

"uh-huh…haven't heard of that yet?"

"No… I haven't even tasted a cake. But I tasted an apple pie, a Banora apple pie.", he shared.

"Banora apples? Oh! You mean the dumbapples! Really? How does it differ with other apple pies?"

"Well… I haven't eaten any apple pies other than that. So I never would have known how other pies tasted. It was made by a friend of mine. Banora apple pie together with Banora apple juice.", He said smiling as he remembered how delicious that pie is of course, made by his friend Angeal, on the other hand the juice was made by Genesis. The curve of his lips suddenly went straight as the thought of Genesis. Genesis feels bad about him just because he was the hero, he was willing to surrender the title to him because for Sephiroth, friendship meant more than that. He wanted those times to go back, back when the three of them would go to the training room and play pranks on each other. And now, reality dawned on him, he could not go back to those times, Angeal was dead as well as Zack, Genesis was missing or might as well dead, he would not know as their meeting in the NIbelheim reactor was the last of what he saw of his friend, slowly degrading because he was noted a failure of an experiment, and he, a perfect monster, just like how Genesis quote his name "perfect monster", indeed, he was man, tainted by an alien's blood and mutated into a cold blooded monster camouflaged by a pale human skin.

"Sephiroth…?",

His thoughts suddenly disappeared and turned to look at Aerith, who looked so worried. "Yes?", he asked.

"Are you alright? You seem to be in deep thought, is it okay if you tell me what's on your mind?"

"N-no… it's nothing don't worry about it, I just remembered some things. Well, you pretty have good cooking skills, the pasta was delicious.", he then took another serving into his mouth.

Aerith smiled and said, "Thank you! If you want more, just get some okay?"

"Sure."

* * *

Aerith offered to wash the dishes and Sephiroth cleaned the table, after that he proceeded on composing the song he always had on his mind, while Aerith decided to bake a carrot cake. He tried to play the notes he combined so far and it seems to turn out beautifully.

"Sephiroth"

He turned to look at Aerith.

"I'll just water the plants outside okay?". Then she went out closing the door lightly behind her.

Sephiroth continued his composition, after an hour, he heard the door opened and Aerith came inside. She went straight towards the kitchen and checked the oven if the cake was about to be baked. _30 minutes more._ She said to herself. She decided to go upstairs for a while and fix some of her things.

30 minutes passed and Sephiroth finally completed his composition. _At last, after 4 hours, I've completed the song I dedicate for Aerith._ He thought as he smiled to himself. Suddenly he heard the opening of the door and footsteps were heard as Aerith was going down.

"Well, seems like the cake is already baked." She greeted with a smile.

"And my song was finished.", Sephiroth told her smiling.

"Really? Do you mind if I listen?"

"I don't really mind though, in fact I want you to hear it."

"Really? Well I'll just go get the cake from the oven, just wait a moment okay?", she said as she hurriedly went towards the kitchen. She removed the cake from the oven and placed them first on the table to cool off. She then removed her mitten-like potholders and returned to the living room.

"Can you play the song now?" she said as she was walking towards Sephiroth smiling.

Sephiroth nodded and with that took his seat in front of the piano and started to play the notes. The music was beautifully made and notes matched perfectly, the melody was soothing and relaxing as Aerith listened with closed eyes. When Sephiroth finished playing, Aerith opened her eyes and gave him a warm applause.

"That was beautiful. It seems like you put your heart and soul into your melodies as you play it. Honestly, the sound of your songs were not like the mad Sephiroth I once knew knew, it was more like the Sephiroth I never knew, The side of you that shows your sane human side. I'm happy, that I was able to see the real you.", she said smiling as she approach the piano and tried to play some notes.

Sephiroth stood up and looked at her with joy-filled eyes, he looked at the piano and turned to look at her again as he spoke, "Thank you, I once played the piano before, but I forgot how important it is to me when my bestfriends were gone. One died physically, the other killed his personality. Since then, I couldn't find it in my heart to be attached to music anymore.", he then turned to look at the ground.

Aerith went near him and put a hand on his elbow. "That must be very sad, but I'm sure your friend would like to hear your compositions knowing how beautiful it is. Reach the people's hearts Seph and continue playing the piano.", she smiled at him as he looked straight into his eyes. Then Aerith turned to look at the piano and then took a seat on the chair from where Seph had stood up.

"By the way, what was the title of the melody this time?", she asked as she looked at the piece of paper containing the notes.

"River flows in you.", Sephiroth answered.

Aerith turned to look at him, still holding the paper in her hands. "River…flows…in you? Is there a meaning behind the title?", she asked curiously.

"Yes.", He walked near the window in the living room, overlooking the flower garden outside, then looked at her again. The sun was shining outside, passing through the window and illuminating his back, enhancing his features more. "I completed this composition as your presence filled my mind. A river is a body of water that keeps on flowing regardless of rocks and other obstacles. It then keeps flowing, reaching a vast expanse of a body of water such as a lake or the sea. To me, you were like a river that keeps on pushing through life's impossibilities and then in the end, touching people's soul and giving them hope. You gave me hope Aerith, so I dedicate this composition to you as a way of saying 'Thank you'." He then bowed his head in a very gentlemanly manner.

"I-I never thought I could be a hope for you Sephiroth, but…but I… I'm so glad that I helped you in some way I thought I could never do.", tears then welled up in her eyes and then flowed on her cheeks.

Sephiroth then hurriedly reached at her side and put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"Don't worry, I-I'm alright, these are tears of joy. I'm so happy I was able to reach you. I won't give up, I'm sure the planet will forgive you someday and you can live a life of peace.", she said smiling, as Sephiroth reached a hand to her face and wipe the tears from her face. Aerith was shocked at the gesture and looked at him straight in the eye. Sephiroth stopped what he was doing and said, "I'm sorry…" He then stood up and as he turned his back on her, she put an arm around him and hug him from his back. Sephiroth stopped as he was not expecting this, then he heard Aerith spoke, "Thank you so much, I'm so happy." Then she let go of him as she withdraw her arms around him. She then turned to head towards the kitchen but as Sephiroth couldn't contain himself anymore, he decided to express his hidden emotions and grab her elbows and pushed her tighter to himself, hugging her. Aerith was shocked and couldn't believe what he was doing. Suddenly Sephiroth pull himself and looked at her straight in the eye, without saying anything, he closed his eyes and gestured himself closer to Aerith. Aerith seeing this just closed her eyes and lifted her head in response to his impending action.

And at long last, their both awaited moment came, their lips touched, Sephiroth tried to deepen the kiss as the passion that burned inside him finally came out, he no longer hold back and instead, do what he wanted to try all those time when he finally felt something different towards Aerith. He kissed her in a deep passionate way as Aerith responded to his kiss with the same passion. Then realizing what he had done, Sephiroth broke the kiss and pulled himself away and turning his back away from her.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have done that, forgive me.", he then tried to walk away from her, but Aerith took hold of his arm and said, "Don't go… and don't apologize, you have done nothing wrong, I… Sephiroth… I…" _Should I tell him? Should I tell him that I feel something for him? That now I was certain that I loved him… should I?_ She thought to herself. But then her thoughts were interrupted as Sephiroth asked, "What do you want to say Aerith? What is it?"

Aerith put a hand over her chest and said, "Sephiroth, I…I truly believe that… I feel something for you, something strong and powerful inside of me, but I- I was afraid to express it because… you might… you might not feel the same…"she finished.

"What feeling Aerith? Say it…"

Aerith looked at him, his eyes showed pain, loneliness and guilt. _NO! I couldn't tell him but… what if…what if it would only pained him more? Or what if my words could save him? I should tell him, I really should!_

Then Aerith turned to look him in the eye, "Sephiroth… I love you… I know that it was too sudden, but it's true…"

Sephiroth looked at the ground and then looked back at her. "You shouldn't… you can't…", he gently pushed Aerith's hand away and run towards the door.

Aerith was shocked and couldn't understand why, she then hurriedly went out the door to follow him. The sky was darkening, signs of an impending heavy rainfall. Sephiroth kept on running.

_She can't… she can't fall in love with me, I'll be leaving her soon, I hurt her once, I took her life, should I hurt her again? No… my sins were already too grave. _He then continued running towards the settlement he considered a home.

* * *

Rains started to pour as Aerith was running looking for Sephiroth. "Sephiroth!!! Where are you? Answer me! Please don't run away from me like that! I meant what I said! Please… Please come back…", she then started to cry. But an image of him flashed, sitting and gazing towards the sky. _The settlement!_ As she thought of this, she decided to run towards the shelter Sephiroth considered a home with an old woman named Josie.

When she arrived, she saw a gleam of light inside, a candlelight. She went inside slowly as she saw a figure, cloaked with an already soaked blanket.

"Hey…", Aerith greeted.

"…"

There was no response, Aerith came nearer and put a hand on his shoulder. Suddenly, a hand pushed hers away. He removed the blanket and an angry expression met her.

"You shouldn't be here.", he said as he gritted his teeth.

"But-"

She was interrupted as he stood up and went outside into the pouring rain. Aerith was shocked at his anger. _Oh planet, what have I done…?_ An image flashed across her mind.

_You were like a river Aerith, pushing through life's impossibilities and in the end, touching people's soul and giving them hope. You gave me hope Aerith…_

"That's right, I gave him hope, I am his hope, I shall not falter.", she said to herself as she stood up determined and went outside. She saw him staring out into the sky, he looked at her and then tried to run away from her again.

"Running away from me again? Why? Did I do something wrong? Was it wrong to express my feelings for you? WAS IT WRONG? ANSWER ME! And don't you DARE TURN YOUR BACK ON ME SEPHIROTH!", she shouted back at him.

Sephiroth stopped.

"TELL ME! WHY ARE YOU RUNNING AWAY??? WHY?"

He looked back at her, "You want to know why? Do YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHY?", he walked back at her and stopping in front of her, a meter apart.

"YES I WANT TO KNOW WHY! Because a while ago you told me that I gave you hope, but then you turned your back on me and now we're like this! I don't quite understand…"

"Because, you can never understand me! It's true that you gave me hope, and now that you said that you love me! I don't want to hold on too much Aerith, knowing that in the end I'll be leaving and the hope that you gave me will all be for nothing! You just took a pity of me, I killed you! I hurt your friends, I hurt and murdered lots of innocent people with these blood dirty hands dammit! YOU CAN'T LOVE A MONSTER LIKE ME! YOU CAN'T!"

"Why can't i? why??? Who are you to dictate whom I gonna love, whom SHOULD I LOVE? I decide on my own Sephiroth, and I chose you!"

"You don't understand how I feel… How can I treasure something knowing that it will be taken away in the end? You're trying to give me something that I cannot have forever! Something that will only torment me more! Something that I will believe on, a truth that that will be only temporary… the planet will take me Aerith! Why chose someone like me who will be leaving you soon enough? You're hurting yourself, I don't want to see you miserable because of me, because I already made you miserable once! I don't want to see you hurt… you don't deserve it."

"And you do?", she spat back at him.

"Yes…"

"Why do you think that way? WHY? And why don't you want me to be miserable? WHY??? TELL ME! So I should know!"

Sephiroth moved closer to her a foot apart.

"Because… because!"

"Because WHAT! WHAT SEPHIROTH TELL ME!", she challenged.

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU HURT!"

"WHY! I'M ASKING YOU WHY YOU IDIOT!"

"BECAUSE…BECAUSE I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH THAT I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU HURT!"

"You love me? But why are you running away from me?"

"Because I don't want to see you miserable in the end…It pains me to see you cry, It kills me everytime I see you sad, I die a little each time when you cry Aerith… Back when I saw you lamenting over the what ifs, of what if I hadn't kill you? What if you and I never met at the forgotten capital? It was I… the reason behind those tears, I was the culprit, and now that I've grown more attached, and my feelings for you were certain, I don't want to do that again to you. I would rather make you hate me than see you sad because of me. All of this Aerith, was just like a magic, and just as how Cinderella's story goes, 12th midnight will struck soon enough and all of this magic will be gone in a flash like it never existed. Everything's not real Aerith, everything."

Aerith hold his hand to hers, she closed her eyes then opened them and looked at him.

"Sephiroth, I want you to believe, that when you think, nothing's real, then I want you to know that the only thing that's real, is my love for you. Your love for me will be something I will treasure, it will give me hope to persevere and in the end i would know, that I tried to create a miracle by having something to believe in. And I know, that when the time comes that this magic will soon be gone, I would tell myself gladly that I persevered, I persevered in creating the miracle that I want, and the heavens would surely, grant us something in return for the faith we have for each other. We must at least try, let us not surrender Sephiroth, our love, will do what we asked for it to do.", she smiled.

Sephiroth calmed down and looked at her, "I love you… that's the truth. I love you now, and I will continue to love you forever even in my afterlife. I… I just don't know what to do anymore. Aerith… I don't want to go, I don't want to leave you, I wanted to stay right by your side. But we cannot defy the planet, all is set, we must learn to let go of these feelings we have for each other so none of us would be hurt in the end. I'd rather stay away from you."

"We don't have to do that, there would be a miracle, you will be forgiven, trust me, you will. And even if now is not our time, in our afterlives, our love will transverse all odds. But I don't want to let go of my feelings for you, let's savor this moment until your judgment day. There must be a reason why we love each other now, and we must focus on it and not the future.", then slowly she hugged him, her arms on her chest as she leaned against him.

Sephiroth responded on her action and put his arms around her as he leaned his head on her shoulders and whispered in her hair a soft "I love you". The rain continued to pour heavily on Edge, as the two of them find warmth and comfort standing out in the rain holding each other close.

* * *

Whew! Chapter 10 over! Enjoy reading! Till next update! ^.~


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **All of FF characters are property of Square Enix, th songs mentioned in this chapter were all property of **YIRUMA** and were only used to give emphasis on Sephiroth's compositions, the song "**Pure Heart**" is a property of Square Enix made originally by **Nobuo Uematsu**.

Enjoy Reading!^_^

* * *

Chapter 11

Aerith woke up on her bed with Sephiroth beside her. His right arm leaned heavily on her waist, while the other arm curled around her hair. His face an inch away from her, when Aerith saw Sephiroth's calm sleeping face in front her, she can't help but smile to herself. She leaned closer to him as she rested her head on the crook of his neck.

Yesterday they've become honest with their feelings, they expressed their love through words and actions. She remembered how they ran towards her home laughing as if nothing happened. Then upon arriving in front of her doorstep, he kissed her passionately as she responded with such eagerness. They occasionally broke the kiss as they could not stop giggling. They dry themselves up as she invited Sephiroth to her room, however, the latter refused as he swore to her and to himself he would not touch her no matter what happens. Aerith understood his words as a sign of respect to her, but what she want is that Sephiroth can sleep in her room rather than on the sofa in the living room. She laughed hard as Sephiroth blushed because he totally misunderstood her words, Sephiroth apologized. Aerith just shook her head and told him that it was okay and that she didn't care at all, Sephiroth just proved his respect for Aerith. Then that night she and Sephiroth settled on her bed as he kissed her forehead softly and whispered a 'goodnight' as he in turn closed his eyes in slumber.

Everyday seems to be a beautiful day for Aerith, every morning they prepare breakfast together, they wash the dishes after and then water the plants, however, they always end up soaking each other on the garden as they point the water hose towards each other and then laugh as if they could stay like this forever. After eating their lunch, Sephiroth and Aerith would sit in front of the piano as Sephiroth played new songs.

Sometimes, they would go and roam around the town after delivering the flowers to the flower shop. They would even stop by on Alex's music store. They would even visit Tifa and Cloud on their new bar. At first when Aerith told Tifa and Cloud about their relationship, Cloud totally disagreed, Tifa however trusts her friend's decision. In the end, Cloud accepted the fact that Sephiroth indeed changed and that Aerith is happy being with him. After going around town, they would visit the church on the rubbles of Midgar, and that place was a soothing place for both of them as they would gaze up in the sky, savoring the moment they share together.

* * *

"This is what you call the baby's breath, a flower that is occasionally used as a side decoration with other flowers. You can combine some big flowers that can be used as your main flowers.", Aerith said as she points out on the flowers located on her garden, while Sephiroth listened attentively.

"They said flowers symbolizes some things that when you can't say something directly to someone, you can use the language of flowers.", Sephiroth said.

"Yes, it's true. Hmm… let's see… this baby's breath symbolizes purity of heart and innocence. That one is what you call an iris.", she told Sephiroth as she points out to a purple flower.

"What does it symbolizes?"

"An iris means wisdom and valor, a symbol of faith and a promise in love and it is also a symbol of hope.", Aerith finished.

"I see… It's a beautiful flower that holds valuable meaning.", Sephiroth then reached out towards the Iris and picked one. Aerith followed after him and stopped just a foot away from him. He smelled the flower and turned to Aerith.

"This flower symbolizes your personality Aerith, you're my hope, and the Iris symbolizes hope right?"

"Yes, and it also speaks of you Sephiroth, wisdom and valor, that is who you are.", she told him as she smiled.

"An Iris, symbolizes faith and a promise in love, just as how the Iris symbolizes both of us, it also symbolizes our love. No matter what happens, we will have faith in love, and this, this will brought us back together when one of us will be lost.", Sephiroth told her as he looked straight in her eyes.

"Yes, the Iris will lead us back to each other no matter what happens. In a field filled with these flowers, you and I will be together again."

Then they kissed. Suddenly, a sound of a ringing phone interrupted them. Aerith broke the kiss and reached out for her pocket. The name Cid was flashing from her phone screen.

"Cid was calling."

Sephiroth nodded.

Aerith picked up the phone and answered, "Hello? Cid?".

"Yo! Aerith! I have good news for ya'!"

"Really? What is it?"

"I've already finished upgrading the bronco and that silver haired guy could make it fly now to go see his mother!"

"Oh…", Aerith suddenly felt sad as the thought of Sephiroth leaving her would be soon enough.

"I've also fixed the Sierra, we'll all go and see him off on his departure, there's no way I can just let him fly mah bronco!"

Aerith chuckled softly, "Alright."

"so? Is he planning to leave anytime soon?"

Aerith glanced at Sephiroth who was now studying some of her flowers in the garden. Then spoke, "Anytime soon I guess, I'll go ask him and then I'll call you back later."

"Aright! Call me okay?"

"yes, thank you Cid, see ya!"

"yeah, see ya!"

Aerith hung the phone then put it inside her pocket. She then walked towards Sephiroth. Sephiroth turned to look at her.

"Is there a problem?"

"N-no…", Aerith lied.

"You can't lie to me, I Can see I in your eyes."

"I hate you, you can already read my expression aren't you?"

Sephiroth chuckled soflty, "How can I not? You're so easy to read." He smiled.

"I guess so… well yeah, something happened. And it really saddened me."

Sephiroth sighed heavily and then looked at her, "I guess… he finished fixing the bronco?"

Aerith looked surprised, "How did you know?"

"Because I believe that's the only thing right now that will sadden you, especially it was Cid who called."

"Oh… right."

Sephiroth put his arms around Aerith and hugged her tight to himself. Aerith put her arms around him as well.

"You don't have to be sad, I've already seen this one coming, we both accepted it right? That even though we knew what was coming, we pushed through our relationship. You told me that our love will help us right? It will do what we want it to do.", Sephiroth told her.

"I-I know… but, I can't help but falter at my own words.", Aerith said as tears began to well up in her eyes.

"You gave me the strength of holding on, you should not give up, there would be a miracle.", he said as he pulled Aerith softly away from him and wiped her tears.

"I- I don't want you to go…", Aerith said between sobs.

"I don't want to go either, but do I have a choice? It will be 20 days from now before my allotted departure. Aerith be strong! We can do this, we can…", he said as he smiled sadly.

Aerith gently nodded and hugged him again.

"A miracle that is, the Iris will bring us back together.", she whispered as she closed her eyes.

* * *

As the days gone by, Sephiroth completed more songs he dedicated to Aerith and their love, some titles were "kiss the rain" reminiscing how he and Aerith became honest with their feelings under the heavy rain. Another was "If I could see you again", a song composed by Sephiroth dedicated to a hope of seeing each other again, "Till I find you", a song of hope and determination that they will see each other again as he will not give up on finding her no matter what it takes."Destiny of Love", another song he dedicates for their love which strongly suggests that their love will create miracles for them. "Wait there", a song of promise to Aerith that he will come back. "I" another composition he dedicates for his love towards Aerith. "What beautiful stars" a song he composed after remembering how he and Aerith looked at the stars above the sky, outside Josie's settlement. "My memory" a song he dedicates to the happy memories he had while living with Aerith. "Shining smile" a song dedicated to Aerith, because for him, Aerith's smile is something he would always remember.

As he was creating another song, Aerith was outside taking care of her flowers. He took a rest from playing his piano, he went towards the window and observed Aerith, He wanted to create a song, a theme for both he and Aerith, suddenly a thought struck his mind, he hurriedly went to the piano and crumpled the paper he was using as he writes a supposed to be a new song. He got another paper and played some keys, and as he played them he wrote it on the paper. The thought of Aerith created a new inspiration on creating a theme for Aerith. The notes just dawned on him and he just continued and in a matter of an hour, he finished the song. Aerith's birthday is coming up, and he wanted to give her a present, he doesn't have any money, but he thought of playing the piano for her on her birthday. Just as he finished playing the song he dedicates for Aerith, the front door opened, and Aerith came in.

"Hi!", Aerith greeted.

"Hi.", he replied.

Aerith chuckled softly, did you compose another song? You did compose a lot weren't you? I'm planning to cook something nice for dinner tonight. It's my birthday after all! I can't believe I'm another year older, even though It's been 4 years after meteor, I'm still 23! Haha, I'll be turning 24 now.", she giggled softly then sighed. She then looked at Sephiroth again and said, "I'm just happy that you were able to stay on my birthday. And instead of you, 7 years older than me, now, you're 2 years older than I am. Our world stopped, when both of us left the planet, but now that we've return, it felt nice. This would be one of my most happiest birthdays.", she smiled at him.

Sephiroth smiled in return and spoke, "If you don't mind, I would like to go outside and visit Josie's settlement."

"Sure I don't mind at all! Just be back before dinner ok?", Aerith flashed him a smile.

Sephiroth smiled and then went outside. He was thinking of giving Aerith a gift, something that would at least be a remembrance to her. He went to nearby gift stores but to no avail, his savings were not enough. Upon exiting the gift store, he saw Tifa's bar not far from where he was. He decided to go there.

Upon arriving in front of the bar he gently opened the door and saw a few customers, he ignored them and went towards the counter. Tifa was fixing some of the glasses and Shelke was helping her, suddenly Shelke noticed him and greeted, "Hello Sephiroth."

"Hello, good afternoon.", he responded.

Tifa stopped what she was doing and greeted him as well, "Hello there! What do you want to have?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, then at least let me offer you a glass of cold water?"

"Sure."

A male voice interrupted them and said, "Give him some hard drink Tifa, make it 2 vodka ice."

They all turned to look at the direction of the voice and saw Cloud coming.

"I-I don't want to drink right now." Sephiroth replied.

"C;mon, we'll be drinking at Aerith's house later, a glass of vodka now wouldn't hurt would it?", he then smiled.

"Alright…"

"Okay! 2 vodka ice comin' right up!", Tifa went to prepare the drink.

"I'll go upstairs Cloud and play with Marlene and Denzel.", Shelke said.

"Alright, thanks for your help Shelke.", Cloud replied.

"No problem.", Shelke responded, then went upstairs.

Cloud took a seat next to Sephiroth's, "So what brought you here?"

"Nothing, I was just, going to ask Tifa what does Aerith usually likes. I wanted to give her something for her birthday.", Sephiroth replied shyly.

"When Aerith's name came into my mind, flowers is what I usually think of her.", Tifa said as she brought the 2 glasses of vodka. She then leaned on the countertop smiling.

"Flowers…? Yeah, I thought of that too, but I wanted to give her something that would last, something that would make her remember me every now and then, after all, tomorrow is my departure."

Cloud and Tifa suddenly looked at each other sadly and looked at Sephiroth who was holding his glass of vodka and looking at it with sad eyes.

"why don't you give her a necklace, a ring or a bracelet? Something she would always wear and of course, she would always remember you wouldn't it?", Cloud suggested.

"I thought of that but, my money wasn't enough.", Sephiroth answered.

"I can lend you.", Cloud offered.

"No, I wanted it to come from me. Thank you anyways Cloud."

"But how can you give a gift to Aerith?", Tifa asked.

Sephiroth sighed heavily and took another drink from his glass, "I'll try to look for a one day job."

Cloud glanced at his watch, "You still have time, it's just 2pm, you still have 6 hours right? Dinner would be at 8 right? Do your best!"

"Yeah, thanks.", Sephiroth finished his glass and went outside.

"He's pretty serious with Aerith don't you think?", Tifa told Cloud.

"Yeah, I never knew that Aerith could change him, Aerith is really something, he tamed a man like Sephiroth.", Cloud said.

* * *

Sephiroth thought of going to the pier and help unload cargos to earn money for the day. Upon arriving at the pier, he saw those people who always envy him and made him their punching bag. But he didn't care and acted like he didn't see them and went to talk to the head of the sailors.

"Excuse me?", Sephiroth said calmly.

The big man who was currently writing something on a log book turned to look up at him.

"SEPHIROTH! I'm glad you're doing good! You look handsome man!", the guy said as he shook hands with him.

"Yeah, well I look more human now don't I?", he joked around.

"HAHAHA! You look human to me ya know? It's just that you look well dressed today your features were emphasized.", he said with a smile.

"Thank you Carls."

"No problem! So what can I do for you buddy?"

"I… I was looking for a one day job, I just needed to earn today to buy a gift. I hope you could help me."

"Oh! A gift? To your mother?"

"No…"

"Oh! To a special someone then?"

"Yes…"

"hahaha! Nice one! Do I know her huh? Tsk tsk. You didn't tell me anything! I can now see the gloomy faces of those girls running after you hehe. Anyway sure! You can unload the cargo of the incoming ship, I'll pay you 300gil for doing that! Whaddaya say?"

"Can I unload another ship to make it 600?"

"Oh! 300 is not enough for a gift? Okay okay!"

"Thanks Carls."

"Anytime buddy!"

* * *

When the ship arrived, Sephiroth helped unload the cargo, after 5 hours, he finished his job and got paid. He quickly dressed and went to nearby gift store to choose something for Aerith.

Upon entering the store, he saw lots of fancy things, hair bows, hair pins, brooches, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, rings and other fancy accessories. He saw a necklace with an Iris pendant.

"Excuse me, How much is that necklace?"

"Oh, a gift for a special someone?", the storeowner asked

"Yeah…"

"You chose the right gift, it was the last one, the Iris is a very popular symbol of Love so everyone chooses that. That will be 800 gil", the storeowner told him.

"I'll buy that.", he handed the amount asked by the storeowner and left the store with the package. _Great, I can now go back._ Suddenly he heard a scream. He stopped and went to where the scream came from. Upon arriving he saw a woman sitting on the ground crying helplessly, he went closer and asked her, "What happened?"

"A robber went and stole my bag, but what troubles me most is my necklace which have fallen into the sewer.", the woman cried again.

"What does it look like?"

"A silver necklace with an iris as a pendant, it was given to me by my boyfriend who left for Lindblum to finish his career as an engineer. That was what he left me as a sign of his promise, but I lost it.", the woman answered.

Sephiroth put out the gift he had for Aerith. It was a necklace with a similar pendant. He opened it and handed it to the woman.

"W-what is this?", the woman asked.

"Take it, the necklace means a lot to you right?"

"But, i-I can't take it! Although it is similar, it is yours!"

"It's alright."

"I don't have anything to pay you, my bag was stolen."

"You don't have to, well, I'd better be going now, someone's waiting for me."

"Thank you sir!", the woman said.

"Welcome.", he then went on his way to Aerith's home. He was walking rather slowly and was thinking what he should give. The necklace he bought was given to a total stranger, but what should he do, the woman desperately needs the necklace. As he was walking, he saw an old woman sitting at the sidewalk with a box of accessories laid out in front of her.

"Excuse me sir? Might you need anything to give? Please buy something for your girlfriend.", the old woman offered smiling.

Sephiroth stopped and take a look, the necklaces were ordinary except for one, it was a necklace different than the others, it was a heart shaped pendant enclosed together and can be divided into 2 hearts. In each heart, an Iris flower was imprinted.

"How much is this?", he asked the old woman.

"Oh, that one? 80 gil."

"80 gil? Just 80 gil?"

"Yes, a girl who was passing by a week ago gave it to me and I decided to sell it."

"I see… I'll buy that.", he handed a 100 gil, "Keep the change." Then he went running towards the direction of Aerith's home.

* * *

Everyone at Aerith's house was having fun already, eating drinking and singing. Everyone was there, Cloud, Tifa, denzel, Marlene, Elmyra, Barret, Cid, Shera, Yuffie, Vincent, Nanaki, Shelke, Reeve, Caith Sith. However, Aerith was still worried as to why Sephiroth hasn't come back yet. Suddenly a knock on the door was heard. She quickly went to open it, and she saw Sephiroth.

"Oh! You're back!"

"I'm sorry I'm late."

Aerith suddenly became angry.

"I thought I told you to come back before dinner? You should really be sorry!"

"I'm sorry…"

"Anyway… I'm just glad you returned.", she said smiling, " Come in!"

Sephiroth went inside and closed the door behind, in the living room everyone was there.

"Hey! You're late! Did you have a gift for Aerith?", Yuffie asked.

The others looked at him, even Aerith.

"Well… yes… the piano."

"huh? But I thought you have something for her?", Tifa asked.

"I… I did… but."

Aerith went to him and touch his arm, "It's alright, as long as you're here my birthday is complete.", she smiled at him.

"I will play a song I dedicated to you, I composed it this morning and I was planning to play it to you this evening as a present.", he approached the piano and took a seat. He began to play the music.

Everyone was listening, as he played the song. After he finished playing, Aerith gave a warm applaud followed by the others.

"It was beautiful Sephiroth.", Aerith said smiling.

"Hell yes it is!", Cid said.

"I liked the melody, it very well suited Aerith.", Tifa agreed.

"So what's the title of your birthday gift to her Sephiroth?", Cloud asked.

"Pure heart."

"Pure…heart? An adjective that best described Aerith.", reeve shared.

"Yes, because to me, Aerith have the purest of hearts, the fact that she forgave me and accepted me, nobody could easily do that. But she did, she accepted someone like me a total failure, a monster.", Sephiroth, said.

"You're not a monster Sephiroth.", She then approached him closer and hold his hands to hers. "Thank you Sephiroth, it was the most beautiful gift.", she then turned towards the others, "Thank you everyone, it was the nicest birthday I ever had. I won't forget this."

* * *

Everyone has eaten, others we're talking with each other, Sephiroth went outside, Aerith followed him.

"What are you doing here?", Aerith asked.

Sephiroth glanced at her, "I thought I could spend a time alone with you…"

"Oh… sure if you want to.", Aerith said smiling.

"Can we go to the church?"

"Alright."

* * *

When they arrived at the church, Aerith decided to go near the lifestream in the farther north of the church, the place where her flowers once grew. Sephiroth trailed after her.

Aerith turned towards Sephiroth,"So? Is there something you want to talk about?"

"Well, I thought I could give you a remembrance gift.", he then pulled out the necklace he bought. He put the necklace on Aerith.

"It's beautiful… Thank you Seph.", she looked at him.

Sephiroth pulled the other one, the posterior heart pendant was on him.

"Wow! Are these two pendants connected?"

"Yes… I saw it on the way home so I decided to buy it, it is magnetic, a couple's necklace I guess, besides the pattern imprinted on the pendant is an Iris.", Sephiroth explained.

"I see, It's a unique gift Seph, thank you! I would always treasure this."

"I will too, the iris in this pendant, will bring us back together."

"Yes."

Suddenly, Sephiroth bowed in front of her and asked, "May I have this dance?"

Aerith was surprised, "Dance? Without music?"

"Yes, tonight, we will be like Cinderella and the prince at the ball.", he smiled at her.

Aerith giggled and bowed as well, "Yes you may, my prince."

Then they danced holding each other. "Midnight will struck soon for us, I will soon be leaving.", Sephiroth whispered to her.

"I guess, I'm the prince and you're Cinderella huh?", aerith said smiling.

"I guess so…", he replied with a joke.

They both laughed and stopped, as tears began to well up in her eyes.

"I'll find you, If 'I'm gonna be reincarnated as someone new, I swear I'm gonna find you.", Sephiroth promised.

"Then I'm going to wait for you, to a field filled with Irises. I'll wait no matter how long, I'll wait for you. I promise.", Aerith replied.

"wait for me Aerith, and if ever, I lose my way, I know, our love will lead us back together."

"Yes, our love will lead us back to each other's arms."

Sephiroth hold her tighter not wanting to let go as this may be his last time spent with Aerith. Aerith did the same. _Please dear planet, please give him back to me, please._

* * *

Morning came and the day of Sephiroth's departure has finally come. Sephiroth fixed his things, he went towards the piano and played some keys on it. "Thank you, you helped me made Aerith happy." He covered it, he pulled out an envelope, he wrote a letter of departure to Aerith A day before yesterday and decided to put it atop the piano, he then put a bunch of Irises on it. Aerith came walking from upstairs. She then turned to look at Sephiroth who wore his usual SOLDIER uniform, cargo pants, long black leather trench coat with straps marking an 'X' on his chest. Silver shoulder armors, black combat shoes, leather gloves. Aerith remembered this look, this is what Sephiroth is from his past. And what she guess as to why Sephiroth wore this is that, he would leave the planet as to what he is from the beginning.

"Good morning!", Aerith greeted cheerfully. _I should be happy, that's what I promised and besides, If I showed him my true emotions right now, it would pained him to leave._

"Good morning", he replied with a smile.

"Are you good to go?"

"Yeah."

"Very well then, Let's head to Tifa's bar."

* * *

Upon arriving at Tifa's bar, everyone was already gathered. Cloud stood up and said, "Cid will be flying his Sierra, he would just let down a hanging ladder. When we arrived at the place, you will be riding his bronco while we will be waiting just in the skies "

"Noted.", Sephiroth replied.

"Heyyy! Cid's already here! Let's go!", Yuffie called out.

"Alright, everyone let's go!", Cloud ordered.

* * *

They were already travelling towards Lucrecia's cave, Aerith and Sephiroth were at the deck. They hold each other's hands tightly.

"Sephiroth…?"

"Yes?"

"Do you really think… our love could do what we want it to do?"

"Yes…"

"Then… I don't have anything to worry about, we'll see each other again shall we?", she asked smiling.

"Yes, we will, definitely we will.", Sephiroth answered with a smile.

The door opened and Vincent walked in, "We have arrived, you should go to the deployment area and ride the bronco."

"Alright…", Sephiroth answered. He and Aerith went inside the ship.

* * *

At the deployment area, sephiroth was already preparing, Cid was teaching him how to fly the bronco and Sephiroth easily got the instructions.

"Well, looks like you're good to go! Alright everyone inside!", Cid said as all of them went inside except for Aerith.

"I'll be seeing you.", Aerith told Sephiroth.

"Yes, me too.", he said.

They kissed and then Aerith went with the others.

"Open the deployment area Sierra!", Cid ordered from his communication device.

"Yes sir" was her response.

The gates opened and Sephiroth controlled the bronco and flew towards the direction of the cave. When he landed on a safe ground, he saw the Sierra flying not far away from him. He left the bronco and head towards the direction of the cave. Suddenly a black shockwave-like force flew towards his direction. Sephiroth quickly evaded. He then turned to look at the direction where it came from and saw a woman with silver hair and tentacles, wearing almost nothing, floating in the air.

"Not bad for Jenova's kin.", the woman said sarcastically.

"Who are you? Or should I say, what are you?", Sephiroth asked in an angry tone.

"ahahaha! Totally forgot my manners, I don't have a name, but people call me the Cloud of Darkness. Pleased to be your acquaintance Sephiroth, Jenova's son."

"Cloud of darkness? That's why I can smell your stench of evil from here."

"hahaha! I am created through the darkness in people's hearts, I was dead but was revitalized, thanks to all those people especially you, you're the one who contributed the most."

"Where did you came from and what do you want?"

"I was recovered by the evil queen Ultimecia, and when she retrieved me, she let all the darkness flow through me so I was revived. I came here to persuade you to join us, Jenova is now dead, her legacy may prove to be quite an addition. Join our the legion of darkness, we call ourselves, the New Apocalypse, since we will be the one who will bring the new era! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"Sorry, but I'm not even interested."

"Playing hard to get I see… If you don't want to be part of our group, I have my orders, you must be eliminated for you will pose a threat to us.", the Cloud of Darkness casted another spell and aims at Sephiroth, but luckily he was able to evade.

Inside the airship, everyone was confused of what was happening.

"Who was that busty lady out there chasing Sephiroth?", Cid asked.

"Who knows… Cid land the Sierra now! Sephiroth needs help.", Cloud said.

"Alright!"

"Please hurry Cid!", Aerith said.

"Here goes!"

_Please be safe Sephiroth._ Aerith thought to herself.

* * *

When the Sierra has landed, cloud, Vincent and Barret were only the ones who left. Cloud ordered the others to stay inside.

When they arrived at the battle scene, Sephiroth shows signs of tiredness.

_HE couldn't handle battles like this anymore. The planet must have really took away his JEnova powers._, Cloud thought to himself.

"Sephiroth we'll help you!", Cloud shouted back. And the three of them charged at the opponent while Sephiroth took a rest.

Suddenly a clown-like being appeared out of nowhere.

"Need my help Cloud of Darkness?", the being asked.

"Don't just stand there Kefka! Help me destroy these momrats!"

"Okay! Let's play!!! WAHAHAHAHA!!!" the fight began.

Cloud and Sephiroth was fighting Kefka, while Vincent and barret goes for the Cloud of Darkness. Kefka summoned a lightning spell, Cloud and the others evaded it easily but it was pretty hard for Sephiroth who was tired already. He got hit and was lashed out into a hard rock. Aerith seeing this run towards him, Tifa and Yuffie tried to call her back but Aerith wasn't listening, but then, the Cloud of darkness called upon a large shockwave-like force and intended to hit the area where Aerith was running, Sephiroth seeing this didn't at all hesitate, he quickly got up and as he was running towards Aerith a voice entered his mind.

_Would you die for her?_, the voice asked.

_Yes._

_Are you willing to give away your life even if I'm not going to claim your life anymore?_

_Yes… what kind of life would that be without Aerith? I'll give this life I possess, I will give it for her… I WILL GIVE IT ALL FOR HER!_

And then he reached Aerith on time and pushed her hard out of the point of impact. Sephiroth was hit by the shockwave and the place where he was standing crumbled and fell into the ocean below. Vincent got hold of Aerith just in time before the ground crumbled.

When the fog vanished, Sephiroth wasn't anywhere, as well as the bronco and ¼ of the ground.

"SEPHIROTH!!!", Aerith screamed at the top of her lungs, crying her heart out and flailing her arms, hitting Vincent Occasionally.

Suddenly a man with long black hair appeared out in the sky.

"Kefka, Cloud of darkness, Ultimecia wants you to return."

"I see… playtime's over let's go back Kefka! Hahaha!"

"That's it? I haven't enjoyed much!", then they all disappeared.

"NOOOOOOOO!!! NO! NO! Bring him back! Bring Sephiroth back!!!"

"Aerith…", Vincent said she put her down on the ground, everyone went towards her.

"Let me go! Vincent let me go!!! I need to look for him I have to!!!", Aerith screamed out desperately.

"Aerith you can't we don't know if he was still alive.", Barret said.

"HE IS ALIVE BARRET HE IS!!! He have too… he must… I can't live without him, I can't", Aerith said as she was crying.

Cloud hold her shoulder and shook her hard "Aerith, Sephiroth is dead! Why do you think he sacrificed his life for you? Would you just let it go to waste?"

"Cloud…", Tifa said to Cloud.

"No, it was my fault, I, I am the reason he was gone, I am…", Aerith then just cried helplessly in Vincent's arms.

* * *

Meanwhile, down underwater…

_I can't breathe, i… I think my time is up. Ugh…_

_Do you want to live…for her?_

_Planet…is that you? If, If I would be given a chance to live again why not? Aerith needs me, I don't want her to blame herself for losing me._

Suddenly all went black, when Sephiroth opened his eyes, he saw black everywhere, suddenly lifestreams came flowing through him.

"What is this? Where am I?",

He continued to walk and saw not far away, a beautiful woman clad in gold armor.

"Who are you?"

"I am this planet's entity, I am called Minerva, I control the flow of the lifestream. You saved our child's life, the last of the Cetra kin, you didn't even hesitate to do so, You also said you wanted to live again if you were given a chance, am I right?"

"Yes…"

"You died this day, but you will be reborn again as what you are before, the planet has forgiven you, you proved your worth, and you proved that people can change if they find a heart to do so. I am granting you another chance at life, your powers will be back to you, but Jenova will never control you again. We also need your presence because, the planet will be in grave danger with a pose of a new threat. Your strength will prove fatal to them and so you will be given a chance."

"Really? Thank you planet… And I extremely apologize for the things I've done before."

"Bygones now Sephiroth, however, your second chance will be different, you will lose your memory, you will not know anything about your past."

"I will be reborn but my memories will be erased?"

"Yes."

"But… what about Aerith?"

"That's not my problem anymore. So I am asking you again, do you want to return?"

"A life without Aerith is nothing but, there would be a chance to see her again, although I won't be able to remember her. I accept your offer planet! Bring me my powers back and my life."

"are you sure?"

"Yes, because I know, even if I forgot about Aerith, I'll just have to fall in love with her all over again.", he said smiling.

"Very well then, you never cease to surprise me Sephiroth. Your life is yours again."

All went black again as Sephiroth was succumbed by the flow of the lifestream.

* * *

"A big explosion was noted in that continent Genesis."

"I see… send me every information you can get about the area Weiss, me and the other will check it out."

"Roger that!"

He turned off his communicator. He step up at the watch post of the vessel, he used the binoculars to explore the area and not far from where they are, he saw a man floating on the ocean unconscious.

"SELPHIE!! STOP THE VESSEL!"

"Alright General!", Selphie said.

"What's the problem general?", a man wearing a black jacket with a scar on his forehead asked Genesis.

"A man was unconscious not far from where we are Squall, ask the other SeeDs to rescue the man."

"Yes sir!", then he left.

"A huge explosion huh… must be the New Apocalypse."

His communicator received a call, he answered it.

"Have you recovered some data?"

"Yes, Genesis, the place was called crystal cave, the explosion came from one of Ultimecia's minions, the Cloud of Darkness."

"What! Dammit! So they've taken action now huh. Thanks for the info Weiss. I'll just contact you again if I need anything else."

"Okay."

Genesis went towards the rescuers as they recovered the body of the man.

"Is he alive?", he asked one of the SeeDs

"Yes sir!"

Genesis kneeled down in front of the man clad in black, when he turned him, he was astounded.

_This is… Sephiroth! So we meet again my friend, It's been a long time now, and I should make it up to you for everything I told you._ He thought to himself, as Sephiroth lay unconscious on the vessel that is headed by Genesis who was now an elite SeeD member of Balamb Garden.

* * *

There you go! Chapter 11! This will be the start of my crossover, crossover between final fantasy and my other fave games and anime. See you next chapter!^_^


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